


Make a Change

by BelleAmant



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Saltfic, but y'all get an ending nonetheless i promise!!, chapter 15 is a summary of everything i had planned, go ahead!, i had no motivation, if anyone wants to take the notes i left and run with it, salthaven, saltier than my soul, sorry for ditching the story, technically abandoned?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 19:14:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 21,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21773656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BelleAmant/pseuds/BelleAmant
Summary: "I'm so glad that her disability isn't stopping her from modeling," Her mother says, and Marinette decides that that's it, that's the last straw.She's done. She's abso-fucking-lutely done.A story in which Marinette decides to make a change, and moves on from her friends and the liar they follow...by moving schools.(Salt inbound, infrequent and sporadic updates when I find inspiration.)
Comments: 297
Kudos: 1216





	1. Part One

Part One

"I'm so glad that her disability isn't stopping her from modeling." Her mother says, and Marinette decides that that's it, that's the last straw.

She's done. She's abso-fucking-lutely done.

Lila can lie as much as she wants, fine. Adrien doesn't mind modelling with her? Okay, no big deal. Her classmates are willing to flip on her at the drop of a hat? Go off and have fun.

But she  _ refuses  _ to watch her parents be tricked so easily. She refuses to sit silently, waiting for Lila's next trick. She refuses to stay in such an awful, untrustable place in life.

Marinette opens her mouth without hesitation and states, “I want to switch schools.”

She has her parents’ attention immediately. They turn off the television, looking to her with confused expressions.

“What do you mean? You seemed so distraught when you were expelled,” Her maman says, and Marinette huffs.

“I’m done. Maman, I can’t keep going there.” She can’t. She can’t sit there, never knowing if she’ll have friends or enemies that day, never knowing if she’ll be the ‘everyday Ladybug’ or the villain of her class.

“Marinette, is there something you’re not telling us?” Her papa asks, and Marinette feels her confidence waver. But she smiles shakily.

“Do you really want to hear? It’s...it’s a long story.” 

Her parents nod, ready to be supportive and attentive. So Marinette tells them everything. She tells them about Lila’s first day, and how she followed Adrien and Lila out of jealousy. She tells them about how Lila claimed to be a fox heroine named Volpina, and how Ladybug called her out for her lies. She tells them about how she’s  _ tried  _ to out Lila, but nobody believes her. She rants about how Alya and Nino refused to listen without proof, and brushed away the evidence that she laid out. She complains about how Adrien told her to take the high road, and how she feels so alone in there. She admits that she’s not sure who her friends are anymore, because they turn on her so easily, without even stopping to think about how she feels. She admits that she’s been threatened and nearly akumatized. She tells her parents everything that she can, every lie she’s heard and every worry she’s had...and then she cries.

As soon as Marinette starts to tear up, her parents are there. They’re  _ there _ , with tissues and hugs and support and love. They’re there, and they listen to her and believe her, and it’s more than her class has given her. They’re there, and they promise to help.

“We’ll start looking for a new school, if that’s what you want,” Her maman promises, frowning in sadness.

“And I’ll talk to your principal about all of this!” Her papa adds, his normally jolly face filled with anger. “This is the second bully they’ve allowed to slip by!”

Marinette appreciates the offer, but she smiles sadly instead. “Papa, they won’t believe you. Lila will just lie, and that could affect the bakery. I just want to go away from them. She’ll be happy then, and maybe she won’t spread lies once I’m gone.”

It’s wishful thinking, she knows this. But Marinette is done. She’s ready to let them go, even if it will hurt.

It hurts just as badly to be with them, anyways. And she’ll find new friends, hopefully ones who won’t leave her so quickly when they find someone who tells tall tales.

Caught up in her head, Marinette doesn’t see the concerned glances that her parents send. But they snap her out of her daze quickly.

“Marinette, why don’t we start looking for a school? Maybe there’s one nearby that has a better arts program for you,” Her maman suggests, and Marinette brightens at that.

“I’d like that, maman.” 

They spend the rest of the evening searching, and finally, Marinette finds one that she likes. It’s more focused on the arts, and they have a wonderful fashion department. 

“We’ll visit tomorrow,” Her parents promise. Marinette agrees, then heads up to bed. 

It’s as she slips into her bed that Tikki asks, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

And, admittedly, she’s nervous. Scared, honestly. After all, this change is sudden and different. Marinette has had the same classmates all of her life, has always known at least one of her peers. But now she’s looking to break her routine and have a new set of peers. It’s terrifying.

Yet Marinette isn’t reluctant. No, Marinette feels relieved. Because while she cares about her classmates, she knows that they aren’t dependable. She knows that they don’t trust her, and she can’t trust them either. She knows that she can’t win against Lila, and she knows that this is the only way out.

She’s ready to make a change.

And so Marinette smiles at Tikki with all of the happiness she can find, and nods. “I’m sure. This is what I need, Tikki. This is what I have to do. It’ll be tough, but I’m sure that I can make new friends if I get accepted...and forget my old ones”

Tikki smiles back. “If you’re sure, Marinette. And at the very least, you’ll have me!”

Marinette giggles. “I know. Thanks Tikki, you’re my best friend.”

“And you’re mine, Marinette.”

The words lighten Marinette’s heart, and she lays her head on the pillow and closes her eyes, ready for what’s to come tomorrow.

And it’ll come, and it’ll be the change Marinette’s needed. 

‘ _ Congratulations, Lila, _ ’ Marinette thinks. ‘ _ You got my spot. You got my friends. You got Adrien. And now I’m gone. You win...but so do I. _ ’

Yes, things will improve for her.

But the same can’t be said for her soon to be ex class. After all, how lucky can you be once your ‘everyday Ladybug’ leaves you?

Not. Very.


	2. Part Two

Part Two

They didn’t know what happened.

Miss Bustier’s class was fine a moment ago. They were all friends, laughing and joking and having fun. And while Marinette’s near expulsion had scared them, everything was alright now! Alya, for one, is excited to see her best friend again, and maybe have lunch at the bakery today.

After all, they didn’t talk  _ all weekend _ . It makes sense that Alya is itching to see Marinette again.

But when the bell rings and Bustier just starts taking attendance, Alya is confused. Because Bustier has always waited a few moments, has always given Marinette a chance to run in and shout, “I’m here!” before she’d dart to her seat. Miss Bustier isn’t doing that, though, and Marinette’s footsteps can’t be heard racing down the hall.

Alya can’t help but raise her hand in confusion. “Miss Bustier, shouldn’t you wait for Marinette?” She asks, because that’s what’s always happened.

Miss Bustier frowns, and Alya grimaces. 

‘ _ Marinette must have been late too much, and the school finally said something, _ ’ Alya assumes, and feels bad for her best friend. 

“Well, Alya,” Miss Bustier begins, but then the door slams open, and Mr. Damocles is standing in the doorway.

“Miss Bustier, we need to have a talk in the office,” The principal says, and Miss Bustier nods.

“Class, please get ready for when I return. This shouldn’t be long,” their teacher says, and then she’s walking out, shutting the door behind her.

Alya pulls her phone out of her pocket, opening up her chat with Marinette.

‘ _ Girl, where are you? Bustier didn’t even call your name, are you in trouble? _ ’ She sends the text, feeling worry fill her gut. 

Nino turns around, the same confusion on his face. “What’s going on with Nette? Bustier usually waits.” 

Adrien turns as well, frowning. “That  _ was  _ weird. Do you...do you think the school is still mad? Because Lila said that she had lied about that, right?”

“Yeah, because of her disease.” Alya feels bad for the poor girl, and hopes the Italian can be helped. She’d never even  _ heard _ of a lying disease until news of Marinette’s return was announced. 

“They could be? I don’t see why, though, if Nette really didn’t do anything. Which she wouldn’t.” Nino shrugs finally. “Maybe she just called in sick?”

Alya nods. “You’re right! It’d make sense. She got so stressed about it, maybe she got sick over it.” It explains why Marinette hasn’t responded to her text, either…

Just as the three fall silent, they hear Lila’s voice in the back of the room. “I just feel so bad, accidentally blaming Marinette like that.”

“It’s not your fault, Lila!” Rose is quick to say. “You can’t help it.”

“Yeah! No one should feel bad for having a disease,” Kim adds. “It’s like blaming yourself for someone else breaking your leg, even though they pushed you down the stairs!”

Alix snorts. “Maybe not the best example right now, but Kim’s right.”

Lila smiles sweetly. “Thank you, guys. You’re all so sweet to me, I just hope my disease doesn’t act up again.”

“I’m sure it won’t anytime soon,” Max says, pushing his glasses up. “If you’ve been truthful to us this whole time, except for this one incident, then statistically speaking, there’s a five percent chance that this happens anytime soon.”

Lila beams, and Alya smiles at the pure joy on her newest friend’s face. “Oh, that’s a relief! Thank you, Max, you’re so smart.”

Max seems to shine under the praise, and grins back.

But suddenly, the smiles are gone. Suddenly, Lila is frowning, her eyes saddening and her demeanor shifting. Alya watches the change and feels worried, wondering what had happened.

Luckily, Lila is never one to hide her emotions, to hide her secrets. It’s what Alya likes most about the Italian: she’s always honest.

(Little does she know…)

With a shaking voice, Lila says, “I just...I wish Marinette hadn’t gotten so angry at me.”

And something feels off. Alya finds herself leaning over her seat, leaning closer to the back to hear. Behind her, she hears Nino shifting as he faces Lila fully.

“What do you mean?” Juleka is the one to ask, and Lila sniffles.

“After I confessed, Marinette...she insulted me. She told me that my disease is fake, and that I was lying about  _ that _ .”

“But that doesn’t make sense. Why would Marinette think that? I mean, if you were just a liar, you’d have no reason to ask for her return,” Nathaniel points out, eyes skeptical. “Lila, do you feel like yourself right now?”

Alya watches as Lila’s eyes widen for just a moment, then return to their teary state. 

(Something feels off.)

“Of course! I think Marinette was just mad, oh I never should have said anything. You guys probably don’t believe me, I should’ve just stayed quiet.”

This time, Nino is the one to speak up. “We believe that she’d be upset, but I don’t think Nette would just brush off someone’s sickness.”

Lila wipes at her eyes. “I didn’t think she would either. She’s always hated me, though. I don’t know why, she seems so nice with the rest of you...Maybe she, no.”

“Maybe she  _ what _ ?” Alya finds the words coming out of her mouth. Because other than jealousy, why could Marinette dislike Lila?

(Something feels wrong.)

“It’s...It’s a secret, I don’t know if I can tell you.” Lila frowns. “I’m sorry, I want to tell you, but I just don’t know if I can.”

“You can trust us, Lila!” Rose says, reaching out to hug the girl. 

“Yeah! Whatever you want to say, we’ll believe you,” Kim adds.

“What is it?”  Mylène asks.

Lila looks at the class, then nods slightly, as if to herself. “I...I suppose I can tell you. But this has to be a secret between us, okay?” Everyone nods, and Alya finds herself drawn in more and more. “Alright, I just want to say that I’m sorry for hiding this for so long. But Ladybug told me that I had to hide my identity. I never wanted to, but she said it was for my own safety.”

Alya blinks at that, but doesn’t speak.

Lila does, however, as she pulls out a familiar fox pendant necklace from under her shirt. A familiar necklace that Lila, in a disease-controlled haze, had planted in Marinette’s locker.

A familiar necklace that, the longer Alya looks at it, the more it reminds her of a certain Miraculous that  _ she’s _ worn.

And then Lila speaks. “Guys, I’m Rena Rouge.”

(Something feels fake.)

The class falls to chaos, with most of the class shouting in awe. They’re excited, they’re ecstatic, they’re delighted to hear that one of the heroines of Paris is in the classroom.

The real Rena Rouge watches on in shocked silence. She stares at Lila, trying to understand what this means.

Slowly, as if surreal, she finds herself turning to Nino. Nino stares back, the same confusion on his face. Because Lila had said that she wasn’t being affected by her disease right now, but...but she wasn’t telling the truth.

(Something doesn’t add up.)

Chloé scoffs. “Now just  _ why _ would Ladybug let you keep the Miraculous full time?” 

Lila smiles, ignoring the venom in Chloé’s voice. “Because I’m her best friend, of course! I’ve had it on me since the beginning. That’s why I was so scared when I found out that Marinette had taken my necklace.”

“I thought you said you had lied about that?” Nino asks. 

Lila freezes for a second, but it’s just a second and Alya barely catches it. “I- I forget the things I do when I’m overtaken by my disease.” The others nod along to that, so caught up in what Lila says that they don’t question her words.

And why is Alya questioning her? She’s never questioned Lila. 

But this isn’t right. This is wrong, this is terribly wrong.

“So you’re dating Carapace?” Alya blurts out, glaring at Lila. “Because Rena and Carapace are  _ definitely _ a couple.”

Here, Lila giggles. “No, silly. I’d never date him. He’s infatuated with me, but I, well...I like another boy.” She bats her eyelashes sweetly, smiling as if she’s spilling a silly secret.

It feels like an illusion, and Alya can finally see through it.

(Everything makes sense.)

But then nothing does. Because Miss Bustier comes back in, and her eyes are sad (were they sad earlier? Was she upset just fifteen minutes ago? Has it really only been fifteen minutes?) and she moves to start class.

And Alya finds her hand raising again as the class goes silent, finds herself questioning everything as she goes, “Miss Bustier? Where’s Marinette? Is she sick?”

Because she needs to know where Marinette is. Because she needs to tell Marinette that she sees the truth now, that Lila  _ is _ lying- and it looks like her disease  _ is  _ another lie.

But Bustier smiles sadly, and says, “Marinette has transferred schools. She will no longer be attending this school.”

(Alya feels like everything will get much, much worse.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys seemed to like part one, so I took the time to transfer part two over from my tumblr! <3


	3. Part Three

Part Three

The silence sounds like buzzing.

That’s Marinette’s first impression of the school as she steps in for her first day of school. Unlike Collège Françoise Dupont, which was always alive with chatter and noise, Collège des Arts (a rather unoriginal name, but what they lack in naming creativity is made up in their actual art programs) seems calmer, more relaxed. 

The students mill about the campus, speaking in small groups with low tones, yet nobody seems cold. Wherever Marinette looks, there’s smiles. A few are sent her way as she clutches the straps of her backpack, she returns them as well as she can. It’s odd, being the new kid.

At the same time, this feels like a fresh start.

Marinette keeps this thought in mind as she walks into the building, eyes searching for the principal’s office. It’s hard to remember the path, considering she only saw it on Saturday (she’s still surprised that she was admitted so quickly, although it  _ does _ help to have Jagged Stone as one of her previous clients...multiple times).

Her Ladybug luck seems to come in, though, because she’s intercepted by a boy who just seems to exude warmth and cheerfulness.

“Hey!” He calls out, waving to her. “Are you new, or have I just managed to walk past an angel for the past few years?”

Marinette can’t help but giggle, and she sees how his blue eyes light up in satisfaction. “I am new, actually. I’m trying to find my way to the principal’s office, but I’m a bit lost.”

The boy laughs, turning smoothly to walk beside her. “Oh yeah, Principal Brielle’s office is pretty hidden. I  _ love  _ it, especially when some hoity toity parent comes in, trying to advocate why their kid is so exceptional and should come to this school, and their rejection was  _ clearly  _ wrong.” He nudges her slightly, steering her around the corner without a word, then smiles at her. “But it sucks for the new kids who  _ do  _ get in, because then they end up late for the first day. The school doesn’t like tardiness.”

Marinette gulps. “Oh, I have a track record of being late.”

“We’ll fix that. The teachers are chill, but they’re not lenient with rule breakers.”

That’s...comforting. “So, I’m guessing that means bullying is shut down quickly?”

The boy looks at her like she’s crazy. “Yeah? There’s no excuse for that stuff, if anyone tries to start problems, it’s taken care of before a teacher even says a word. Nobody is happy with that kind of attitude. Why’d you ask?”

Marinette smiles awkwardly. “Let’s- let’s just say my old school was  _ very  _ lenient...and had a habit of blaming the victim.”

The boy whistles. “Dang, good thing you’re out of there. And here we are!” The boy waves to the door with a flourish, then grins. “It was nice to meet you, newbie. I hope to see you around…”

“Marinette!” She supplies with a smile of her own. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng. And you?”

“Claude.” He bows, then glances up at her, blue eyes peering through his brown hair. “Claude Mercury, resident actor at your service.” He’s standing then, and knocks on the door behind her.

“Come in!” Principal Brielle’s voice calls, and Claude winks.

“That’s your cue. Break a leg, Marinette.” He strides away, leaving Marinette to turn around and open the door.

Principal Brielle smiles kindly as soon as she sees Marinette. “Ah, Marinette, right? Come, take a seat. You need your schedule, oui?”

“Yes, Mrs. Brielle.” Marinette sits down. “And thank you, again. I know that it’s odd to transfer during the school year, but-”

“Now, none of that nonsense. We’re happy to have you here, and I can’t wait to hear of the works you create during your time in my school. Here we are!” Mrs. Brielle hands Marinette her schedule and a map of the school, her classrooms already marked. “Before you go, do you have any questions?”

She doesn’t. All of the things she wanted to ask were asked on Saturday, so Marinette has nothing to say. “Nope! Thank you, Mrs. Brielle!”

“Of course. Have a wonderful first day, Marinette, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to knock on my door!”

Marinette nods quickly before slipping out of the room, looking at her schedule and map.

And then she looks at the time on the clock and nearly screams, because her first class starts in two minutes and is halfway across the school.

Sprinting through the halls, Marinette can only pray that running isn’t against any of the rules. 

She bursts into the classroom three seconds before the bell rings, and nearly trips over her feet in relief. 

Standing behind a podium, her teacher smiles in amusement.

“You must be the new student,” the man says simply, and Marinette nods. “Why don’t you introduce yourself, then?”

Marinette looks at the rows of students, all of their faces unfamiliar to her. Gulping back her nerves, Marinette smiles brightly and says, “Bonjour! My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and I can’t wait to meet you all.”

A few people smile back, and Marinette feels better.

The teacher grins. “Alright, Marinette, I’m Mr. Marcel. Welcome to my class. There’s an open seat next to Félix Agreste, Félix please raise your hand.”

In the front row, a blond boy raises his hand, his gray eyes on her as she walks over, as if analyzing her.

Sitting down, Marinette smiles at him. “Nice to meet you, Félix.”

He eyes her oddly, then asks, “Did you make Jagged Stone’s glasses?”

“And the album cover,” Marinette responds. “I didn’t think anyone would recognize my name, though.”

Félix just shrugs. “My cousin is a fan.” He smiles wryly. “I’m sure you’ve passed him in the halls at your old school.”

Marinette sighs, thinking of her old (wow, it’ll take a while to get used to that) class, and the boy who once made her heart skip and freeze like an old record. “He was in my class. Sat right in front of me.”

Félix hums, clearly putting that detail away for later. But he doesn’t ask any more questions, pulling out his tablet instead. Marinette does the same.

But right before the teacher speaks, Félix says, “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

And as class starts, Marinette knows that she can do this. 

She isn’t Lady Luck for nothing, after all. 


	4. Part Four

Part Four

Allegra wasn't sure what to make of the new girl, Marinette. She seemed nice, yet rather awkward. Claude had taken to her immediately, and yet, so had Félix. She had connections with people like Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale, and yet...she was so humble. The girl had been offered a trip to  _ New York _ , hadn’t she? By Audrey Bourgeois, one of the fashion queens! (Allegra wasn’t a fashion major by any means, but she picks up a thing or two from some of her classmates.)

And somehow, Allegra hadn’t heard Marinette mention any of these things. Somehow, Allegra only knew this because of news she’d heard before the girl had arrived, of the rumors that spread from designers in her grade.

Allegra doesn’t understand this new girl, this Marinette Dupain-Cheng who is unknowingly creating a flurry of excitement with her arrival, but she does know one thing:

Marinette is the human embodiment of sunshine. She is a sweet, catchy melody that Allegra feels herself wanting to sing along to, wanting to protect that note and project it. She knows this from the moment that Marinette steps into her second hour.

Language Arts has never been so vibrant. 

Allegra was simply reading a poem that one of her friends had recommended to her- so what if she likes poetry, it’s beautiful?- when the bluenette had stepped into the room, eyes searching for something. They’d landed on Allegra, and Allegra had reacted on instinct.

She smiled politely and gave a small wave. She then had the pleasure of watching Marinette beam, a small ray of sunshine shining directly at her. And then, when their teacher finished introducing the new girl, she’d been instructed to sit right beside Allegra.

Allegra hadn’t been sure what to expect from the little sunbeam, yet Marinette managed to surprise her nonetheless.

“Hi! Allegra, right?” Marinette had said, and Allegra had felt confused. After all, Mr. Jean hadn’t stated Allegra’s name, had he?

“Yes. Marinette, how did you know my name?” Allegra responded, eyeing the girl with curiosity.

And Marinette had giggled. “Oh! Félix told me you’d be in here when I asked him for help with my schedule. He told me to look for,” Marinette cleared her throat then, and spoke with a lower voice, imitating the blond, “the girl who’s probably sitting alone, and  _ definitely _ reading poetry.” Marinette dropped the impression, smiling once more. “And there you were.”

That’s how Allegra found out that Félix had befriended her.

She didn’t find out about Claude until fourth hour.

Allegra expected math class to be normal. She expected Claude to come in, where Allegra would make a passing comment about the sunbeam of a bluenette (perhaps another name was more fitting for Marinette? She’d figure it out later…), Claude, in his usual dramatic fashion, would gasp and ask for details on Allegra’s new friend (were they friends? Allegra would have to ask. She hoped so, the designer seemed sweet.), and Allegra would casually brush off his questions, telling him that, perhaps, she’d tell him at lunch about the encounter.

She hadn’t expected Claude to practically  _ drag _ the poor girl in, raving about a lab they’d done in science class. She hadn’t expected Claude to pull Marinette over to Allegra’s desk, and for Marinette to add details to the story (it was just salt and water, how did they manage to make something explode?) with a voice that was somehow both proud and bashful at the same time.

Truly, Marinette was a conundrum. But Allegra loves mysteries nearly as much as she loves romance novels and old poetry, and she was happy to see where this mystery leads.

It lead to lunch. 

It lead to lunch, which lead to Marinette being invited to eat at their table. Allegra worried that this was too much, too fast, that perhaps Marinette would be annoyed by how much of her time they were taking-

Marinette had positively lit up when Claude extended the invitation. She’d nodded so quickly, Allegra wondered if it hurt. But Marinette hadn’t shown signs of pain, and had rushed after the actor. So Allegra followed.

When Marinette sat down, Allegra sat on the other side of the table. It left a bit of distance, but also gave them direct eye contact for when they talked. Claude, of course, decided the best spot was right next to the new girl, where he leaned on her as he excitedly introduced their small, yet remarkably close, friend group.

“So you already know me. I’m the actor of this group, the glue that holds us together, the founder of the quantic kids-” Claude rambled, smiling brightly as he spoke.

“We aren’t the Quantic Kids, Claude, please stop saying that we are,” Allegra cut off, rolling her eyes. “We’re just friends, there’s no special name to it.”

“Don’t let her trick you with those lies,” Claude whispered loudly. “She loves the name, and we’ve been Quantic Kids for  _ years _ . If she didn’t like it, she would’ve left.”

“You would have sobbed if I did, I couldn’t cause a scene that big,” Allegra responded. “The school would despise me.”

Allan snorted, sitting beside Allegra. “Don’t listen to them, bud, Allegra and Claude are just like an old married couple.” 

“We are not!” Allegra said, and she could feel how her nose wrinkled before she realized she was doing it.

“Aww! Allan thinks we could get married!” Claude had cooed, batting his eyelashes at Allegra.

Marinette seemed to enjoy the banter, at least, because she giggled before turning to Allan. “Hi! I’m Marinette, and you are?”

“I’m Allan. Nice to meet you.” Allan had smiled, and Allegra could see that he was relaxed around her. That was a good sign, Allan sometimes had trouble relaxing around new people.

And then Félix showed up, and he’d sat beside Marinette. “Nice seeing you again, Marinette.” He said simply, and Claude had gasped.

“You know Marinette?” He screamed, and Félix had sighed.

“We met in first hour.”

“Marinette, you managed to befriend Félix? But he’s so cold to everyone!” Claude had stared at Marinette with awe, as if she hung the stars in the sky.

“Maybe that’s just with you,” Félix had said calmly, and Claude gasped.

“That’s it! I’m taking away your Quantic Kids title! Marinette, you can have it.” Claude mimed the action of giving Marinette a badge. Giggling, the bluenette pretended to take it.

“For the last time, we aren’t-” Allegra had started, but Marinette accidentally cut her off.

“So, what do we do as Quantic Kids?”

With a sigh, Allegra knew that Claude would never drop the idea.

But now, at least, Allegra understood Marinette Dupain-Cheng just a bit more.

She was just a normal girl, with a normal life.


	5. Part Five

Part Five

Miss Bustier is....rather confused by this turn of events. The past few weeks have been rather hectic, haven’t they?

Yes, they have. First Marinette, her star pupil, her role model for her peers, changed. She became bitter, angry with the new student. It wasn’t like Marinette, wasn’t anything like her. Perhaps they had a little spat. Surely that was all, just some simple miscommunication. 

Marinette  _ had _ disliked Adrien when they first met, after all. And Miss Bustier wasn’t blind to love, she never has been. 

So Miss Bustier, naturally, assumed that Marinette would calm down and see reason. After all, Lila seemed like a kind, well-rounded girl who gave up far too much of her time to help others. Actually, she reminded her of Marinette, but a bit more...all over the world.

Miss Bustier was sure that, together, the two girls would change the world for the better.

But Marinette didn’t let go of her grudge. She hated Lila, and suddenly...suddenly Miss Bustier found herself with an anonymous note stating that Marinette had stolen the test answer guide, and soon after her star pupil was expelled.

Expelled.

Miss Bustier never imagined that the bluenette could do something so wrong, but suddenly Lila was claiming that Marinette stole answers, that Marinette pushed her down the stairs, that Marinette  _ stole _ from her.

And Marinette was gone.

And then she was back. Because Lila, the sweet, selfless girl that she was, also had a disorder that caused her to lie and do things that she didn’t mean to. She seemed so distraught as she explained her issue to the principal, and Miss Bustier had felt so awful. But Marinette was back, and surely she would be so happy to know that Lila had confessed. They’d be great friends, wouldn’t they?

Miss Bustier had even changed up the seating charts, so that Lila and Marinette could sit together. If sitting together helped Alya and Marinette become best friends, who knew what it would do for these two?

(She didn’t learn from last time, did she?)

But things didn’t go as planned. Marinette’s mother had called during the weekend, explaining that Marinette would be busy until further notice. 

That was fine. Miss Bustier decided that she would simply wait until Marinette returned to enforce the new seats. Until then, she would just skip Marinette’s name on the attendance sheet. 

But Marinette didn’t return.

It was a normal Monday morning. It was normal, and calm, and...and then Damocles walked in, and he asked to speak with her.

Mrs. Cheng was waiting, and mon Dieu was she angry. Her words were like ice as she spoke. And the longer she spoke, the worse Miss Bustier’s day became.

“ _ Ever since we first enrolled Marinette here, she was bullied by Chloé. And you did nothing.” _

__ _ “Mrs. Cheng, I’m sorry, but you have to understand that-” _

__ _ “That what? That I should stand by and let my daughter be bullied because the problem causer is the mayor’s daughter? That I should let my daughter be hurt for no reason?” _

__ _ “Your daughter was meant to be a good example!” _

__ Mrs. Cheng froze then, and her eyes narrowed. “ _ Is that all my daughter was to you? A good example for your students? Is that why I’ve finally heard of how awful her class has been?” _

__ _ “Her class hasn’t been awful to her,”  _ Miss Bustier defended, appalled at the idea.  _ “Marinette has been causing some issues lately, yes, but the class is as usual.” _

__ _ “As usual must mean different things to us, because my poor daughter was sobbing in my arms this weekend over the fact that nobody believed her because of that liar.” _

__ _ “You can’t be upset over that. Mrs. Cheng, Lila has a disorder-” _

__ _ “She’s a bully! She threatened my daughter! She threatened to ruin Marinette’s life and take all of her friends, and she did just that! You let this happen. You failed my daughter, and as such, she will no longer be attending this school. In fact, she’s already transferred.” _

__ The world froze.

“ _ A bully? No, you don’t understand. Lila would never bully anyone, or threaten to do such a thing.” _

__ But she was wrong, it seems. Because Mrs. Cheng had no problem recalling every lie Marinette talked about, and taking the time to pull up the truth. Jagged Stone never had a cat. Prince Ali never worked on dealing with pollution. Marinette would never do any of the things that Lila stated that she would, or hated Lila over jealousy. And Lila didn’t have any of the disabilities that she claimed to have.

Lila Rossi was a liar, down to the way she claimed she had a disorder.

It was...unnerving.

So when Mrs. Cheng got up to leave (and it was only fifteen minutes, how had so much happened in such a small span of time?), Miss Bustier could only say, “I’m sorry.”

“You should be.” And Mrs. Cheng was gone, taking Marinette’s papers with her. Taking the last piece of Bustier’s star pupil with her.

Guilt weighed down on her shoulders as she went back to her class. And when she got there, all of her students looked to her. 

“Miss Bustier?” Alya asked. “Where’s Marinette? Is she sick?”

Miss Bustier tried to smile, but it felt strained. It felt fake, like it was being pulled up by strings. 

“Marinette has transferred schools. She will no longer be attending this school.”

She expected chaos. She expected shock, and screaming, and demands for explanations.

She hadn’t expected to see Lila’s gleeful grin, to see the satisfied glint in her eyes.

She felt sick. 

Miss Bustier had lost her star pupil for a lying, deceiving one. 

Something had to be done.

But what?

The question had stumped Miss Bustier, and the rest of the day was a blur as she tried to figure out what to do.

Which leads her to now, where she sits at her desk, the bell rung just minutes ago, desperately reaching for straws, needing ideas on how to fix this mess that she’s allowed to happen in her classroom.

Her thoughts are cut off by footsteps, and a small, concerned, “Miss Bustier?”

She looks up from her desk to see Alya, who seems so small compared to usual. Nino has his hand on her shoulder, consoling.

“Yes, Alya?” She asks, because even if she’s grieving the loss of such a great student, she’ll be damned if she ignores another.

She can’t let this happen again.

“Do...do you know why Marinette left? She won’t answer my texts.” Rubbing at her eyes, Alya adds, “I think it’s because of Lila.”

Miss Bustier frowns. “I’m not sure that it’s my place to say.” Because at the very least, she needs to respect the poor girl’s privacy. Heaven knows she failed to do that when Lila gave her that anonymous note.

Alya frowns. “Oh...right. Thanks anyways, Miss Bustier.”

“Of course. And Alya, don’t be afraid to come talk to me if there’s any problems.”

Alya nods, but she doesn’t respond. She just walks away with Nino, leaving the teacher alone with her thoughts.

Miss Bustier feels awful, not being able to help yet another of her students, not being able to answer Alya’s questions. 

Questions.

Miss Bustier races to Damocles’s office, slamming open the door. Racing to his filing cabinet, she pulls out Lila’s papers.

And right on the emergency contact part? Mrs. Rossi’s number.

It’s time that Miss Bustier asked some questions of her own...and finally get some real,  _ honest _ answers.


	6. Part Six

Part Six

Marinette is beaming as she walks home, and she’s all too happy to tell Tikki about her day (even though Tikki was right there with her the whole time).

“And then it caught on fire! And Claude was just laughing like a mad scientist, it was amazing!”

Tikki giggles with Marinette. “I’m glad that you had such a wonderful first day, Marinette.”

“Me too. I was worried that it’d be difficult to switch schools, but I’ve already met some really great people, and they seem to like me, too!”

“They do!” Tikki reassures, then lets out a small peep before diving into the bluenette’s purse. Confused, Marinette looks up.

Her day gets a little bit worse, because her old best friend, Alya, is waiting outside of the bakery.

Alya spots her a second after Tikki is hidden away, and Marinette can see the guilty frown on her face. She wonders, briefly, what happened in the one day Marinette’s been gone.

She doesn’t have to wait to find out.

“Mari!” Alya shouts, racing to reach Marinette. But when she reaches the designer, she hesitates, arms extended but not pulling Marinette into a hug. Instead, she retracts her arms, pulling them to her chest.

So something  _ did _ happen. Marinette feels wary, and takes a small step back.

Alya notices, and the guilt in her expression worsens.

“Mari, I just wanted to say I am  _ so _ sorry. I should’ve listened to you about Lila, she’s an awful liar who needs to be taken down and-”

“What did she do?” Marinette interrupts with a sigh, and that seems to confuse Alya.

“You- you’re not upset?”

“Why would I be? I knew she’d keep lying. But what did she do?”

“She claimed that she was Rena Rouge.”

Marinette feels disappointment and bitterness run through her veins. Because of  _ course _ that’s why Alya finally believes that Lila is a liar. Because of  _ course _ Marinette’s constant comments and truths weren’t enough. Because of  _ course _ it only mattered when it involved Alya’s secret identity.

Really, she should have known.

(The joke really is on them, Marinette decides, because Rena Rouge is permanently retired as of the past weekend. So neither is the Fox heroine.)

Realizing that she should be reacting, Marinette rolls her eyes. “Wow, she really went all out, didn’t she? But Alya?”

“Yeah, girl?” Alya asks, eyes filled with confusion. She doesn’t understand Marinette right now, it’s obvious.

(Marinette wonders how much Alya ever understood her. She doesn’t want to know the answer, she feels like she’ll be even more disappointed.)

“Where’s your proof?”

“What?!”

“I mean, sure, I wouldn’t believe that Lila is Rena Rouge, because Lila is nothing like a hero should be, but how did you figure it out?”

“Because, uh, Rena and Carapace are in love!”

“And how do you know  _ that _ ?” Marinette raises an eyebrow. “It’s not like they ever announced it.”

“They told me! I just didn’t post it!”

“Oh, so you won’t post something heroes willingly tell you, but the kiss between Ladybug and Chat Noir from when they had no memories is something that should  _ definitely _ go on your blog?”

(Yes, she’s still upset about it. Chat hadn’t dropped the idea for  _ weeks _ .)

Alya has the sense to wince at Marinette’s words, but then she glares at Marinette. “Why are you so  _ upset _ over this? Shouldn’t you be happy? I know she’s a liar, girl, and we can call her out for all of her lies now! Nino knows, too, so he’s on our side. I’m sure, together, we can get Adrien to believe us, and then they all will.”

“Oh, Adrien knows.” Marinette shrugs, but she sees how shock runs through Alya.

“What?! What do you mean he knows already?”

“He knew from the beginning. Because remember when  _ you _ , the  _ reporter _ , asked me for proof? Remember how I admitted the fact that I  _ followed Adrien _ , and saw Lila claiming she was a hero, and then  _ Ladybug herself _ came out of the trees to call Lila a liar. Do you remember how you and Nino  _ immediately _ jumped on my case for stalking him, but not paying a single thought to the main point of the story, which was my proof?”

Alya nods, cringing as she recalls the day. “Yeah. I’m so sorry, girl, I-”

“Didn’t even pay attention to the fact that Adrien was there? Because he was, and if you had asked him, he wouldn’t have lied to you. He may have tried to convince you that it didn’t matter, that lies don’t hurt anyone, but he would’ve told you the truth in private. But you didn’t care about the truth, did you? You just cared about what sounded best.”

“Hey!” Alya shouts, enraged. “That was uncool! What’s gotten into you, girl? I would’ve thought you’d be jumping over the moon! I mean, come on! We know she’s a liar, and there’s no way Adrien would ever date a liar.”

Marinette sees red, and has to take a deep breath before responding. She is  _ not _ getting Akumatized over something so petty. “Alya, I’m done.”

“What?”

“I’m done, Alya. I’m done caring about Lila. I’m done caring about the fact that you never believed me about Lila, but only believe it because of your obsession with the heroes. I’m done caring about the class, because they stopped caring about me. I was alone, and hurt, and all of you blamed me for my feelings. You pinned it on jealousy, Alya. And you’re  _ still _ pinning this on jealousy. But you can believe whatever you want, because I’m not there. I’m not there, and I have no reason to care what you guys think about me anymore. I have no reason to worry about what Lila does, or who Adrien dates. I’m out.” The words hurt to say, but Marinette forces them out. Because it’s the truth, no matter how much she used to believe otherwise. 

Alya reels back from Marinette’s words. “You- you don’t care?”

“What good would it do? I’d just be disappointed.”

“But what about the class? We’re all your friends, we care about you!”

“No, you don’t. You guys were all too willing to believe lies about me, to hate me, over things that I’d never do. Stealing? Cheating on exams? Pushing a girl down the stairs? Really, the fact that they believed it all is proof that they didn’t truly care about me or know me.”

“But- but what about me? I believed you, girl!”

“For once. That’s the first time you were on my side since Lila came. You do realize that, right?”

Alya sputters, then smirks. “And what about  _ Adrien _ ? You’re head over heels for him, I doubt changing schools would change that!”

Marinette sighs, then admits, “I’m moving on.”

“What? How?!” Alya gapes, as if Marinette had just slapped her.

Marinette shrugs, glancing at the school. She sees Adrien and Kagami walking to a waiting car, fencing must be over.

She threw out his schedule Friday night, so she has no clue what he’s doing. It feels...good. Relieving.

“I don’t want to date someone who tells me to hide my feelings. I don’t want to love a guy who thinks keeping the bully’s feelings first, and the victim’s second, is the right thing to do. I don’t want a guy who won’t protect me like I’d protect him.” 

Marinette continues staring at the car. Adrien looks up. Marinette can’t read the expression on his face. 

She looks away. “So I’m moving on from him.”

Alya deflates, eyes saddening. “So you’re...you’re just leaving us all? That’s it? No second chances, no forgiveness?”

“I’ve given second chances. And thirds. And fourths. I can’t keep doing this to myself, I can’t keep setting myself up for inevitable failure. So I’m giving up, I’m quitting, I’m walking away from whatever this class has become. Because it’s not good for me to care anymore. Because my new school has people who actually care about me as a person and not a means to an end, or whatever you all saw me as.”

Alya sniffs, and Marinette can see tears. Her heart lurches, but she doesn’t move to comfort her now ex-best friend. She can’t keep doing this.

“I- I see. I’m sorry we made you feel that way…” Alya looks away, hugging herself. “Does this mean I’ll never see you again?”

Marinette knows she should say yes, that she wants Alya out of her life. But despite everything, she still latches onto the memories of the past, of when she believed the class cared about her and was on her side.

“I’m sure we’ll see each other sometimes,” She says instead, trying to be consoling. “We may not be...friends, anymore, but we aren’t enemies.”

Alya flinches, then nods, swiping at her eyes. “Of course. Gotcha. I, um, I gotta go. Babysitting.” Then she runs off. 

Marinette doesn’t call her out for the lie. It doesn’t matter, anyways.


	7. Part Seven

Part Seven

‘ _ She hates us. She hates us and she never wants to talk to us again. _ ’

The words send shivers down Adrien’s spine as he reads the text again. And again. He stares at them until the words blur into static.

“Kid, you okay?” Plagg asks at some point. “You haven’t complained about my cheese onc- oh.” 

Adrien can feel the presence of his Kwami, leaning over his shoulder, reading Alya’s text.

“I don’t get it,” Adrien mutters. “She hates us.”

“I’m sure she doesn’t  _ hate  _ you,” Plagg tries to comfort. “She’s just upset, I bet.”

“She transferred schools. She hates us, Plagg.”

“Oh, dang. I mean, uh, why not try talking to her?”

Adrien looks at Plagg with a dry expression. “Plagg, she  _ hates me _ . Why would she want to talk to me?”

Plagg matches the expression, and his tone shifts to a sarcastic one. “Gee, kid, I dunno. It’s not like you had the  _ god of destruction _ who can turn you into a  _ beloved hero of Paris _ or anything.”

Adrien perks up. “You’re right! Marinette loves Chat Noir, surely she’ll talk to  _ him _ about her thoughts! Plagg, claws out!”

In seconds, Chat Noir is racing across the Parisian skyline, a familiar bakery’s balcony in mind. And when he gets there, she’s sitting in her chair, drawing peacefully, as if it’s just another Monday evening.

Taking a deep breath, Chat pulls on the façade he keeps for Adrien Agreste and shoves it on. Smiling, he asks, “Princess, how are you this wonderful evening?”

Marinette looks up, and Chat sees how bright her eyes are. He sees her happiness shining through, but he knows better. He sees the slight frown at the edges of her lips.

She hides behind her own façade, doesn’t she? Chat feels his heart tug, the pain recognizable.

“Oh, Chat Noir! I’m doing great, how about you?”

“I’m alright,” Chat lies, slipping down to perch on the railing. “Although a little birdy told me that you transferred schools?”

And just like that, the façade is gone. Marinette frowns, looking away. “Yeah. I had to get out of there.”

“Why? Was someone hurting you? I’ll have you know, as your knight in shining armor, I definitely could have fought them for you.”

(He doesn’t see the irony.)

Marinette smiles wryly. “Thank you, Chat, but I doubt you could have fought an entire class in my defense.”

Chat freezes, then frowns. “An entire class? Princess, if you don’t mind me asking, what happened?” This doesn’t make sense. The class wasn’t hurting her, were they? No, they all loved Marinette. The only problem was Lila’s lying, but Adrien had fixed that problem! She was no longer expelled, so why would she say that-

“Well, it wasn’t physical, so you can calm down kitty.” Marinette giggles, as if everything is fine.

(Everything is not fine.)

“It’s a bit of a long story, so I’ll give you a basic recap. So this new girl comes to school, yeah? Her name is Lila.”

“Volpina?” Chat asks, as if he doesn’t know for sure.

“Yes! And do you know  _ why _ she became Volpina?”

“She wanted to be a hero?”

“No! She wanted to prove to Adrien that she was a hero, because she had lied about it and been caught by Ladybug!”

Chat tries to seem shocked. He isn’t sure if it works, but Marinette continues. 

“So then she leaves for a bit. I’m not sure where she went, but when she came back she started going after Adrien again. And then she started lying to the class about all of these amazing things that she never actually did, and disorders and disabilities that she didn’t even  _ have _ so that everyone would do stuff for her! And she was making empty promises, telling my friends that she’d introduce them to celebrities.”

“Sounds annoying,” Chat adds in. Marinette nods and huffs.

“If I hate anything, Chat, it’s liars. So I tried to out her. And then.” Marinette practically deflates, sinking in on herself. “And everyone left me. They called me cruel, they thought I was a bully. And it only got worse.” She sniffles. “Lila threatened me that day. She said if I didn’t play along, she would take away all of my friends.”

She fucking  _ what _ .

“And she did.”

‘ _No she didn’t!_ ’ Chat Noir wants to scream. ‘ _We’re all still your friends!_ ’

“All of a sudden, I was alone. My childhood friends believed her over me, my best friend believed I was a psycho because I was jealous...even my crush wouldn’t defend me, and he  _ knew _ .”

Her what.

Oh.

“He knew?” Chat asks, blinking. When had Luka found out?

“Yeah. Adrien knew from the beginning, but apparently Lila’s feelings mattered more than mine. Apparently Lila’s chance of being akumatized was more concerning than how I was doing. Apparently keeping the peace was more important than my happiness.” Marinette snorts, and Chat suddenly notices the tears streaming down her face. “I fell for his kindness the day we met, did you know? Turns out, he’s just a pushover. I wasted all of that time on him, I wasted all of that time in that class assuming people cared about me. I guess I was wrong, wasn’t I?”

Chat feels like his world is breaking. He feels like something is shattering. He feels like one wrong move will ruin everything.

“Princess, I’m sure that they care. They just made a mistake. I’m sure that if you talk to them, they’ll listen.” Chat tries to smile. “Maybe talk to that Adrien boy? He had to have had a reason to leave Lila alone, right?”

Marinette sighs. “Honestly, Chat? I don’t  _ care _ what his reasons are. And I don’t want to talk to the others. Because they won’t believe me, they never will. Alya and Nino finally do, but it’s too late to matter. I’m not returning to Dupont, I don’t need that level of stress and fear in my life.”

“Fear?”

Marinette blinks, then eyes Chat Noir with near exasperation. “Yes. Don’t you think it’s kind of, I don’t know, scary to constantly have to watch your back? I’m sure there are Akuma who pop out of the shadow to backstab you, or try to ruin your life. Lila’s my Akuma, and the class is made up of a bunch of backstabbers. Why stick around and wait for her to turn them against me  _ again _ .”

“But you’re their everyday Ladybug!”

He shouldn’t have said that.

Marinette’s eyes lock onto his. “What did you call me?”

Chat shrugs. “Adrien said that to me.” Good save. “He said you’re their everyday Ladybug, and you make everything better.”

“And who makes it better for me, Chat?” Marinette sniffles. “No one. Not anymore. I’m done.”

“Princess…”

“What?” Marinette rubs at her eyes, looking away. 

Chat deflates, any thoughts of trying to change her mind disappearing. Because he can’t do that. He can’t try to force her back, not when...not when he’s failed her. Not when he let the class become so toxic for her, and didn’t even notice. Not when he messed up, when he didn’t protect her.

Smiling softly, Chat reaches out. “I’m going to make this better.”

“You don’t have to-” Marinette starts, but Chat presses a finger to her lips, stopping her.

“I do. It’s my job, princess. Bonsoir.” He takes her hand, presses a kiss goodbye...and goes.

He has so much work to do, so much to improve on, but he’ll be better. 

It’s time he started standing up for what’s right, even when he can’t hide behind a mask.


	8. Part Eight

Part Eight

After her chat with, well, Chat, Marinette had gone to bed with a lot on her mind. She couldn’t help but think of Chat Noir’s words, of how distressed he’d seemed when she’d told him of her transfer.

Marinette spent  _ way  _ too long staring at her phone, contemplating if she should call Adrien. Because it was obvious that  _ he’d _ been the one to bug Chat Noir, he’d been the one to ask about her to the cat hero. It was touching, she supposed.

She never called. Instead, she turned to Tikki. Tikki just smiled that soft, patient smile, and said that Marinette should get some sleep. So she did.

Now, on a perfectly average Tuesday morning, Marinette is back at her new school. She heads to her first hour, not wanting to be late. Félix is there as well, and he nods to her before returning his attention to his book. Marinette sits beside him and begins to draw, passing the time before class quickly. It’s quiet, and peaceful, and the first time in forever that Marinette could wake up without someone talking her ear off. It’s a nice change in pace, beside her new friend.

When class starts, it’s simple. Mr. Marcel assigns some worksheets and readings, and tells them to work in silence.

“You’re not the only ones who are sleep deprived,” he mutters, laying his head on his desk. “If you…” he yawns. “If you’re quiet enough, you can work with the person next to you.” Then he falls asleep.

Marinette blinks, then looks to Félix. “Is...is Mr. Marcel  _ always _ like this?”

Félix snorts, how he does it without noise is lost on Marinette. “He falls asleep about half of the time. But when he’s awake, he’s  _ awake _ .”

Marinette giggles, remembering how yesterday had gone. Mr. Marcel had been a bundle of energy, excitedly telling the room about their revolution. He’d gotten so caught up in his rant on the  _ outfits _ (Marinette already liked him), that he’d cursed out the bell when it rang. “I look forward to the rest of the year, then.”

Félix smiles. “Me, too. Here, let’s get to work.”

“Right! Do you want to do the first half or the second half?”

“The second half is mainly about uniforms, aren’t you a fashion designer?”

“Yeah?”

Félix nods. “I’ll do the first half.”

Marinette can’t help but beam. “Thanks!” A few people shush her, and she blushes. 

Félix spares a glance to the rest of the class, then returns his gaze to her. “You’ll learn quick, but we  _ really _ don’t want to wake Mr. Marcel on these days. He’s vicious.”

“How bad?”

“As brutal as Syren and Stormy Weather.”

Marinette raises an eyebrow at Félix’s deadpan expression. “Waking him is as bad as two Akumas that could cause natural disasters that almost killed all of Paris, if not the whole world?”

Félix shrugs. “No, it’s just total fucking chaos.” He turns to his paper, beginning to read. After a few seconds, however, he looks back up to see Marinette gaping at him. “What?”

“Sorry I...I didn’t think you were the type to swear.” Marinette blushes. “That was a dumb assumption, sorry.”

He smiles. “I hear that a lot. I suppose I have a tendency to surprise people. A lot of people make assumptions after hearing a few things about me.” He shrugs again. “I let them think what they want, it’s more fun this way.”

Marinette giggles. “Wow, master of deception right here.”

“I try my best.” 

They barely get the work done before class ends. When the bell rings, Mr. Marcel doesn’t wake up. Nobody seems surprised, so Marinette heads to Language Arts. 

Allegra is already there when Marinette arrives, so Marinette slides into the seat beside her. 

“Good morning, Allegra!” Marinette says happily. “How are you?”

Allegra smiles sweetly. “I’m great, sunbeam, how about you?”

Marinette blinks. “I’m doing well! But, uh, sunbeam?”

Allegra nods. “You are such a sweet ray of sunshine, the name seemed fitting.”

“I’ve never heard that one, so thank you?” Marinette thinks back to her old class, and says, “One of my classmates was called sunshine boy, though.”

“Really? How could he surpass you for the title?” Allegra asks with brimming curiosity. “He must have been the definition of joy to get it!”

“Well, he was always happy, but I think it’s because he was blond,” Marinette admits. “Adrien was always looking for peace, even when...even when it was better that he didn’t.” She winces, shoving away the thoughts.

Allegra picks up on the wince, but for the wrong reason. “Adrien? Is he an ex of yours?”

Marinette snorts. “Not an ex, I was ‘just a friend’ in his eyes.”

Allegra winces, too. “Ooh, one sided love. It  _ is _ always a tragedy.” 

“Disappointing, maybe, but not a tragedy. I knew it was time to move on when I realized it would never work out, so...here I am.”

“You changed schools to get away from a  _ boy _ ?!” Allegra shouts, and a few of their classmates turn to face Marinette, who blushes.

“No! I transferred to...to get away from my whole class. It’s complicated!” Marinette says, before Allegra can question her reasoning. “I just wanted to get away from all of  _ that _ . It wasn’t a good place for me.”

“I see. That makes sense,” Allegra concedes.

“Makes sense?”

“Didn’t you come from the Akuma school?” Allegra waits for a response, but continues when Marinette just tilts her head in confusion. “Weren’t, I forget the exact number, forgive me, about twenty Akumas from your school  _ alone _ ?”

Marinette flinches. “That...that sounds accurate.” Especially when she considers the two biggest reasons she left the school, and that they both had multiple Akuma forms. Yeah...she really did go to the Akuma school. 

(Really, shouldn’t  _ that _ be a sign that there  _ might _ be something wrong with the school? Like a habit of victim blaming and unchecked bullies? No? Alright.)

Allegra smiles kindly. “Well, at least you’re here now! You should be safer, right?”

Fate isn’t kind to those who tempt her, and a sudden scream alerts them of the fickle mistress of life.

“A pop quiz? On a  _ Tuesday _ ? Who does that?!” In storms an Akuma, who clutches all sorts of note cards and loose papers. “Not anymore, I say! I am PaperCut, and I will  _ cut _ this senseless negativity out of my life forever!” Laughing maniacally, the boy sends some of the papers at the classmates like projectiles. The class scatters, racing for any available exit. Allegra darts through the back door of the room, some jump through the open windows. Marinette glances around, seeing how PaperCut approaches her desk...then looks up. She sees that a tile in the ceiling wasn’t put all the way in, and if she jumps-

“Hey! Leave her alone!” Mr. Jean shouts, and it’s all the distraction Marinette needs. She climbs onto her desk and leaps up, grabbing onto the ceiling. Using all of the strength she’s gained during her time as Paris’s heroine, she pulls herself up, until she’s out of sight. Quickly, the bluenette scrambles away, looking for a way out of the ceiling. A few minutes later, she finds a light and pushes out the tile, letting herself fall down.

She lands in the bathroom. The currently filled boys’ bathroom. All of them shriek when they see her, and she races out yelling apologies. She shoves her way into the girls’ bathroom, which is, luckily, completely empty.

“That was a close save!” Tikki says. 

“I’m just glad I could make that jump,” Marinette admits. “I wasn’t sure if I would be able to pull myself up. But that’s not important right now! Tikki, spots on!”

A flash of pink covers her, and Ladybug darts back out, already calling for Chat Noir. 

No response.

“Come on,” Ladybug mutters as she hears a crashing. It seems she’s found the Akuma.

PaperCut storms into the hall as a teacher runs away, yelling profanities. “Yeah, try to outrun me you foul bast-”

“Now, we all know foul language isn’t allowed in a place like this,” Ladybug chides, cutting him off. 

PaperCut glares at her. “You’re trying to stop me, aren’t you? Well I’m not going back! I’m not taking a stupid physics test!” He raises his arm and throws more notes at her.

“I’m sure it will be fine,” Ladybug tries to soothe him, but it’s a bit tricky when she’s more focused on dodging paper projectiles. “You’ll do better than you think!”

“I don’t even know how to measure circles!” PaperCut shouts in frustration, and Ladybug pauses.

“Isn’t that  _ geometry _ ?” She asks, and PaperCut throws his hands in the air.

“How am I supposed to know?” He lunges at her, and she leaps out of the way. She looks for her partner, where is he?

“I think everything will go purr-fectly!” Chat says as he rounds the corner, and Ladybug sighs in relief. “And besides, there’s always next time!”

“Next time doesn’t matter! What matters is right now! And right now, I’m going to take you two  _ down _ .” He raises a hand to throw more papers-

And falls over.

Ladybug looks up, surprised to find...Félix? He stands there, a textbook in his hands.

“Knowledge is power, Ladybug,” Félix says, then picks up a glowing purple flashcard. “I think this is the Akumatized object.”

“Cataclysm?” Chat reaches out and taps the object, and Ladybug catches the Akuma before it can flutter away. In seconds, any damage is undone, and the victim scurries off, muttering about gravity.

“Thank you…” Ladybug forces herself to hesitate.

“Félix.” He looks around. “Have you seen Marinette?” 

“Marinette?” Chat perks up, eyes widening. “She goes here now?”

Félix nods slowly, and Ladybug can see the confusion in his eyes. “Yes. It’s her second day. My friend, Allegra, texted me. PaperCut stormed into their class, and Allegra couldn’t get ahold of her. Have either of you seen her?” 

Ladybug smiles, trying to be calm. “Yeah! She was hiding in the ceiling, last I checked!”

“The  _ ceiling _ ?!” 

Ladybug shrugs. “She’s a smart girl.”

Chat sighs wistfully. “Yeah she is. That’s my Princess.” 

Ladybug isn’t sure how to feel, and Félix seems just as confused. Chat’s ring finally beeps, giving him a cue to leave. 

“I’ll see you later, bugaboo!” Chat says cheerfully, then darts to a classroom and leaps out of the window. 

Ladybug smiles at Félix. “I have to go, but if I see Marinette I’ll tell her it’s safe to head back.”

“Thank you.” 

Ladybug nods, then darts away. Once out of view, she leaps into the ceiling before detransforming, then crawls back to her classroom. She lets herself fall down, scaring Allegra.

At lunch, she’s greeted by two unamused faces.

“Really, the ceiling?” Félix asks, and all Marinette can do is shrug.

It’s, in other words, a rather normal day for Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanon of mine (and is it *really* a headcanon if it happens in my own story?): Felix and Allegra will continue to make jokes about the "Ceiling Incident" for the next few weeks, much to Marinette's embarrassment and the other Quantic Kids' confusion. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because I sure did!


	9. Part Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In Which Adrien Takes a Stand  
> (Even Whispers Make a Sound)

Part Nine

The world is a storm. It’s a cacophony of noise and complaints, an endless sea of voices, of words that want to be heard.

It’s hard to compete when you’re used to silence, when you’ve been trained to sew your own mouth shut, but Adrien tries. He tries, because it’s what she deserves. He’s already late, but it’s better to be late than to fail her completely.

He left her on her own. It only makes sense that  _ he _ should fix this alone.

It’s hard. 

It’s hard, because no one wants to listen. Because they’re wrapped up in Lila’s words, listening with enthusiasm as she weaves tales of nonsense, as she mystifies them with the wonders she’s never seen, of the great things she’s never done, of the accomplishments she never achieved. She lures them in with empty words, and they lean in to her call without a care.

It’s hard, because leaving the high road is difficult. Sure, Adrien knows that Nino and Alya know better (although he doesn’t know what tipped them off), but they’re bitter. They’re upset because Adrien never spoke up. They can catch him, but they want to see him fall, first. They want him to suffer like Marinette suffered.

It’s hard, because she’s gone. It’s hard, because Marinette is off at another school, and she only just left but it feels like ages since he’s seen her smile in the halls, heard her voice as she whispered to Alya in class, felt the happiness that radiated off of her with a sincerity so strong it could knock him off of his feet.

But he tries. He tries for her. Because she was his first friend, his dearest friend, and he can’t give up on helping her. Even if she isn’t there to help. Even if she doesn’t care, doesn’t want him to try...he will, because she deserves more than he’s given.

He starts with Nathaniel. Nathaniel, in the back, who had a crush on Marinette. Nathaniel knew how great Marinette was, how kind and sweet and empathetic she was. Nathaniel knows how she was so good to everyone, even those who never deserved it.

Nathaniel starts to doubt Lila, when Adrien brings up Marinette’s character. Nathaniel knows Marinette, knows that she only acts out when there’s a reason to. He starts to listen, starts to really pay attention to the liar’s words.

Adrien watches, and he sees progress. Nathaniel shows confusion. He turns to his phone. He types something in.

Nathaniel turns to Alix. He speaks to her, only a whisper.

It’s hard to be heard in the storm, but Adrien knows that whispers can add up.

He spreads his whispers at lunch. To Max in the locker room, a little question. How could a napkin hurt Max’s eye if he was wearing glasses? What are the odds?

Zero. 

Max whispers figures and statistics with Markov. He turns to Kim.

Whispers turn to voices as Kim speaks to Alix. They fuse together, two speakers in a world of shouts and whispers. They tell Juleka and Rose.

Whispers turn to whimpers, as Rose texts Prince Ali and sobs into Juleka’s side. Juleka murmurs, and Ivan overhears.

Whispers turn to notes, as Ivan passes the news to his girlfriend. Adrien watches her unfold the note, and the truth does, too.

It takes a week, but whispers turn to shouting. Whispers turn to his class banding together, filled with disdain as Lila speaks. Whispers turn to questions and accusations. Whispers become wonders, wondering where proof is.

The world turns to whispers and wonders, and it overpowers the storm. Lila tries to speak up, to shout over them, but whispers persist throughout the storm. 

Whispers turn to voices, which turn to shouts. Shouts fill the class, and Adrien watches as the storm continues, but the wind has changed. The wind blows against Lila, not him, and the world is on his side.

But the skies don’t clear, and when the shouting dies down, there’s no sweet voice to calm them down.

Adrien succeeded, but it wasn’t enough…

Chat Noir finds his way to Marinette’s balcony, searching for the ray of sunshine. He finds her, beaming as she works on another design. She smiles, and his day brightens. Life is good, the voices die down and the two speak softly as they stargaze. 

It’s perfect, and Chat Noir feels like everything is alright in the moment.

He asks her about her school, her friends. He wants to know, wants to be a part of her happiness.

She loves it. She has new friends, she has great teachers and is excelling in her classes. Her life is perfect, a clear sky compared to the storm of her old class.

He asks her if she misses them.

She does. Every single day, she regrets having to leave them. But she knows it wasn’t good for her to be there, to keep her hopes up.

What if they changed? 

She hopes that they will, but won’t wait around for the day. She only wants the best in life for them, and hopes they can learn the truth as time passes.

She’s calm and serene, a steady voice. She holds no ill will towards Adrien, that much is clear. That’s the only thing that matters.

Chat Noir goes home. And when the morning arrives, Adrien speaks to his father.

“I want to transfer schools.”

His class is empty without Marinette’s company. He’d trade the whole lot of them to see her at school.

So he does exactly that.

And the voices die away, left to fix themselves.


	10. Part Ten

Part Ten

Marinette darts into Mr. Marcel’s history class, expecting a normal day in her normal life at her normal school. She turns to greet her desk partner and new friend, excited to tell him about her weekend. (She’d been surprised, the school gave much less homework on weekends than she got at Dupont. It’d been a nice change.)

But Félix isn’t the only Agreste in the room, and Marinette finds herself face to face with the boy she’s moving on from, the sunshine child of her old school.

Adrien waves, the movement awkward. “Hey, Marinette!” He says.

Marinette blinks. “Adrien?” This doesn’t make sense. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at school right now?” 

“He just transferred today,” Félix says calmly, eyeing the blond with amusement. “He’s been excited to see you.”

“Huh?”

“I made a mistake,” Adrien says, and now he’s locking eyes with her and taking her hands. “I left you alone in there, and I didn’t realize how much that hurt you. I never thought Lila would go so far as to lie to hurt others, that she’d try to get you kicked out.”

“Why wouldn’t she?” Marinette asks wryly. “She  _ did _ threaten me in the bathroom the first day she came back.”

Adrien stills, and Marinette sees something she’s never seen before. Adrien’s earnest eyes turn to narrow slits, and he hisses out, “She did  _ what _ ?!” 

“Oh. I never told you, huh?” That would explain why Adrien was so passive, wouldn’t it?

“No.” Then he shakes his head, and smiles. It’s not sweet, though, but somewhat sadistic. “But when she got you expelled, I knew she’d gone too far. That’s why I agreed to the photoshoot.”

“What do you mean?” Then it clicks, and Marinette gasps. “Adrien...did you agree to let her model...so I could come back to school?”

He nods frantically, still holding her hands. “Of course! I made her come up with the disorder, to come up with  _ anything  _ to come back. But then you left, and I...I couldn’t stay there without my everyday Ladybug.”

The words are touching, and despite moving on Marinette still blushes, still feels butterflies flapping gently. “So you left them all? But what about Nino? Isn’t he your best friend?”

Adrien shrugs. “He and Alya knew, Marinette, and they did the same thing as me. They left me alone to fight Lila. They wanted me to hurt, and I guess that made it easier to leave. But you were my first true friend, and you,” he lets go of her hands then, gesturing to the air, “you light up the classroom! You make everything better, and I wanted to be a little selfish. I wanted to see you.” He shrugs again. “I can always see them all when they calm down, but it was time to, I don’t know, make a change?”

Marinette’s blush worsens with every word. He traded all of their class, all of his friends, for  _ her _ .  _ She _ was the person he wanted to see. The thought warms her heart, and it makes Marinette smile.

“Well, I can understand making a change.” The warning bell rings. “You should find a seat.”

Adrien nods, then turns. Quickly, his smile gives way to a confused frown. “Uh, Mari?”

“Yeah?”

“There’s no spare seats.”

The bell rings, and Mr. Marcel springs awake. “Good morning, cla- who are you?” 

“Adrien Agreste, a new student of yours,” Adrien responds, model smile at the ready.

“Huh. Well, just sit next to Marinette.” Mr. Marcel waves at her.

“But I already share a bench with Félix,” Marinette points out.

“Eh. We can have a bench of three. Marinette, you get the Agreste cousins! Alright?”

Marinette looks to Félix, who shrugs, so Marinette smiles. “Alright!” She scoots onto the  bench, and Adrien sits on her left, leaving her stuck between the cousins.

It looks like history will be more fun, and she can’t wait to spend the time with the two blonds.

~~~~~

Adrien and Félix should never be put together. Marinette is realizing this. Félix loses some of his poise and rationality, Adrien loses some of the walls and the picture perfect example he’s created...and both apparently  _ adore  _ puns.

Marinette is going to flip. 

She’s happy that they’re able to relax, of course! It’s just...she never realized how much of an  _ idiot _ Adrien could be. She already has one pun-loving dork in her life, courtesy of Chat Noir, does she  _ really _ need two more?

(Later, she’ll find that she only has two punning fools. She’ll be even more exasperated, however.)

She barely gets through her first class. History is a nightmare, an absolute catastrophe. (She secretly loves it, but  _ someone _ has to be the voice of reason if Félix is too busy spouting out dumb jokes.)

Then she finds out that Adrien shares her second hour with her, and from the shit eating grin on his face, she knows the puns are going to be a constant in her days.

“Let’s go to language arts, Mari,” Adrien practically purrs out, and Marinette knows she’ll be crazy by the end of the week.

Marinette realizes more as she heads to Mr. Jean’s classroom. When she’s not looking through rose-colored glasses, when she’s not head over heels for Adrien and stuttering over every word...Adrien is just a normal person. Sure, he’s a sweet, kind, overly adorable model, yeah that’s a given. But he’s also just...Adrien. And he makes mistakes. He can be a touch too passive, but Marinette is a touch too confrontational at times. He has a habit of seeing the best in people, even to a fault. And he’s just her dorky classmate who’s trying to make friends, and doing his best to protect the ones he has.

He’s not the perfect boy she imagined, and she...she loves him for it. Maybe platonically, maybe still romantically (only a little), she can’t tell. She feels calmer, now that she knows he can make mistakes. She feels better by his side, able to talk with him. It seems that his mistakes did some good, and allowed her to take him off of his pedestal that she’d crafted for him and, for the most part, truly move on.

She also realizes  _ just _ how oblivious Adrien is when he finally meets Allegra.

“Oh? Another new student?” Allegra comments, then blinks and freezes. “Wait...are you Adrien Agreste? Félix’s cousin?”

Adrien shrugs, smiling awkwardly. “Yeah, I transferred today.”

“I see. Why is that, if you don’t mind me asking?” Ever the inquisitive girl, Allegra leans in, interested in his response.

Adrien rubs at his neck, chuckling a bit. “Well, with Marinette gone, the class just wasn’t the same. And there was a lot of drama going on, I didn’t want to stay around all of it.”

Allegra gapes at him openly, then shouts, “Wait,  _ you’re _ Adrien? As in Marinette’s cru-” Allegra slaps a hand over her own mouth, then looks to Marinette with apologetic eyes that scream ‘ _ I’m so sorry, I will buy your forgiveness if I have to just don’t kill me _ ’.

Adrien just blinks. “Her what?”

Marinette sighs, relieved that her awkward infatuation isn’t being brought to light right now. “Nothing, Adrien, don’t worry about it.”

He seems skeptical, but luckily he just nods before heading over to the teacher, looking for a seat.

He ends up sitting right behind Marinette. It feels like the roles have been switched.

The day continues on, and Marinette finds out that Adrien is in not one, not two, not even three, but  _ four _ of her classes.

Her first four classes, to be precise.

He follows her to science, and gets along with Claude phenomenally. The three work in a lab together...they manage to set a fire. It’s the fourth fire she and Claude have made, and Adrien looks excited as he stares at the chaos that unfolds before his eyes.

“My dad would  _ kill _ me if he saw this,” Adrien whispers, and Marinette believes him.

After putting out the fire, the three head to math, where Allegra can only eye them all with exasperation as they tell her the tale of science class.

Then lunch comes, and the Quantic Kids are shocked by the way Félix jokes with his cousin. It’s unreal how much the boy changes before them, yet at the same time… it makes sense. Both boys have a penchant for hiding bits of themselves, and they’re all happy to see them coming out of their shells, so to speak, when they’re with each other.

And as Marinette goes to English, she thinks about how...relaxed Adrien has been all day. He’s calmer now, more willing to let loose and joke around. He reminds her of Chat Noir, if she ever met her partner without the mask. 

She wonders why Adrien is acting so differently here. She wonders what changed, that he can act so carefree among this body of students, but couldn’t around his friends at Dupont. Realistically, wouldn’t Adrien be held up to the same standards by his father? Wouldn’t he still be expected to be a picture perfect example?

Marinette doesn’t know, but she does know this: For the first time in his life, Adrien is just a normal boy with a normal life. He’s nothing extraordinary, nothing uncommon or bold...and that’s perfectly fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a happy day at school. :)


	11. Part Eleven

Part Eleven

The classroom is lonely.

The classroom is full of energy, full of tension and chaos and  _ noise _ , but to Nino it’s a deafening silence. The friendly atmosphere they once had is shattered, left in the dust. No, it’s not left in the dust, it’s gone altogether, taken partially with Marinette’s leave, and fully with Adrien’s departure.

It’s just...depressing.

Nino and Alya stick together like glue. They have to, when the world seems so chaotic now. 

Lila is still here. She tries to reclaim her throne, but it’s been destroyed, dismantled, torn to shreds and tossed in a fire to burn forever. There’s no hope for her.

Nino should have done something. Nino should have helped Adrien, but he didn’t. He didn’t, because he was upset. He was upset that Adrien knew, that Adrien let Lila spin her tall tales and woo the class. He was upset that Adrien let Lila lie to them, let Lila get their hopes up for so damn long and let Marinette be forced in the back, let Marinette be hated and expelled and toyed with by that liar.

He should have believed Marinette. He should have, when she admitted that she  _ followed Adrien _ . Marinette  _ never _ admitted that, even she realized how weird it was! But Nino didn’t realize how honest she was, didn’t think about how Marinette never lies, never hates people for no reason.

Adrien was an exception, an honest mistake, and Marinette soon changed her view because she was open to learning the truth. With Lila...with Lila, there was no truth, and Nino was the blind one.

And now he’s paying the price for his actions, er, inactions. Because he stood by, while Marinette tried to help him see. Because he stood by, while Adrien made a change and spoke up for her. Because he stood by, and now he’s lost one of his longest friends and one of his best friends.

And now he’s lonely.

It’s not the same, hanging out with the other boys in the class. It’s not the same, without them getting excited because finally,  _ finally  _ Adrien had time for them! It’s not the same, talking to Alya without hearing Marinette’s most recent mistake, or hearing Marinette ramble about her newest design. It’s not the same, never smelling the baked goods Marinette would bring, or the way Adrien always smelled oddly of cheese. It’s not right.

It’s so lonely.

Nino regrets a lot of the things he’s done. He’s been too dismissive. He’s been a bad friend. He’s been bitter.

And now here he is, sitting with Alya, wishing he could go back in time.

He remembers when the idea of sitting with his girlfriend was so exciting, back when Lila returned. Now he just feels guilt…

Alya feels awful.

She didn’t know how awful the class could be, how awful  _ she _ could be, but now she’s paid the price. Is paying the price. 

She wishes that she did something, that she listened when Marinette talked and acted like a good friend should. She wishes that she helped Adrien instead of turning her back out of spite, that she spoke up, that she spoke out.

She wishes she could change everything, but it’s too late. It’s too late, and now Adrien and Marinette have left. Half of their quartet is gone, and now Alya sits beside Nino in the front.

They should’ve done something. But they were mad.

Alya doesn’t have as much fun without Marinette. She tries to ignore her guilt, her mistakes. She tries hanging out with the other girls in the class, but Marinette isn’t there to complete the gang. Marinette isn’t there to vent to when her little sisters drive her up the wall. Marinette isn’t there, isn’t by her side, isn’t her best friend anymore.

It stings, but Alya knows she can’t take it all back. Because what good does apologizing do? What good does it do, yearning for a friend who doesn’t want to come back, who will never come back?

Alya spends time with Nino, but she feels awful.

Adrien is happy. His classes are fun, a little bit more challenging but so, so worth it. He enjoys spending time with Marinette, with his cousin, with the friends they’ve introduced him to. He enjoys sitting with Marinette and Félix in first hour, watching his cousin open up with every pun Adrien spits out. He enjoys relaxing, letting out the jokes and the smiles that he used to only say with his other mask on. He enjoys being normal, being nothing special among all of the artistic prodigies that make up his class.

He relaxes. 

He relaxes, and he grows closer to the people he’s never had a chance to. He grows closer to Marinette, who no longer stutters and shies away from him for some reason. (He won’t ask, he’s just happy for the change.) He grows closer to Félix, who’s never been one for responding to phone calls or leaving his home or his hobbies to spend time with others. He grows closer to the amazing people who have been in his life but have never truly been by his side, not fully. 

Marinette is calm. She moves on from the raging storm of her old class day by day, happy to see her new friends and forget her old ones. Little regrets cloud her sunny attitude at times, but her classmates are there to pass an umbrella so she can pretend that storms don’t exist. 

She’s content. She’s making stronger bonds with Adrien, with Félix, with Claude and Allegra and Allan and all of her other classmates, too. She’s enjoying herself, having fun in her design class, having fun making jokes and ruining experiments and, and.

And being a kid. She enjoys her school, a place where Akumas rarely spawn or come to creation. A place where she can pretend she isn’t some superheroine that saves the city every time trouble comes running her way. It’s calm.

But there’s always a calm before the storm, isn’t there? Marinette should have known better than to ignore her guilts, to cast away her old class without saying goodbye. She should have known that acting in her own interest would lead to hurt feelings, would lead to great changes that even she couldn’t predict.

She should’ve known that, by leaving the Akuma class, she only made them much more of a target.

But she didn’t, and so Marinette heads to school with a smile, unaware of the figure behind her.

Poor, poor Marinette.


	12. Part Twelve

Part Twelve

Juleka can’t believe her eyes, can’t believe what she was seeing. But there she is, right in front of her. 

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is walking merrily, humming a tune to herself as she makes her way to her  _ new _ school. 

Juleka follows, curiosity filling her. How can she not? After all, it’s all so mysterious, so confusing. How can she not follow the girl she used to trust, the girl she used to look up to?

How can she not follow the once beloved class president, the past princess of their class, who was hurt so badly, who was discarded so quickly, and now walks away with a pep in her step?

Juleka doesn’t understand, and so she follows. She doesn’t understand, how can Marinette be so carefree? How can Marinette move on, despite everything they did? They were wrong! They were wrong, so so wrong! They followed a liar, they let Marinette be ostracized and kicked to the back. They believed that she’d steal, that she’d cheat, that she’d  _ push another girl down the stairs _ .

Yet Marinette just walks on, unaware of her second shadow. Unaware of how Juleka follows, almost transfixed.

Curiosity lingers as Juleka strays behind. Because where has Marinette disappeared to? She never said a word, and neither did her parents. She just...left, like some kind of  _ ghost _ .

Juleka has always been intrigued by ghosts. 

Marinette’s new school is fairly close. This fact surprises Juleka, because how could Marinette be so close and yet so far?

Without realizing it, Juleka follows Marinette onto the school grounds.

It feels familiar, somehow. The courtyard a little too similar, a little too well known. She feels herself questioning why.

Her answer comes crashing in, but not into her. No, it comes crashing into Marinette...in the form of a guitar loving boy that Juleka knows all too well.

“Ma-ma-marinette?” Luka exclaims, a smile spreading quickly on his face. “What are you doing here?”

_ Oh. _ It’s Collège des Arts, the school Luka transferred to last semester for their music program. How could Juleka have forgotten, how could she have forgotten the time she came here with him?

Has she lost touch with him, too? Her own brother, her only brother? First Marinette, now Luka, who else is she losing?

“Marinette!” Adrien’s voice rings across the courtyard, and suddenly he’s racing into view. Juleka slips into shadows, hiding behind a nearby tree. “Wait, Luka? You go here, too?!”

“I’ve been here all year. When did you two arrive?” Luka asks, voice casual as if this is normal. As if Marinette and Adrien being at  _ his _ school and not  _ hers _ is normal.

(Why isn’t he questioning it? Why isn’t he more confused, more surprised? Why, why-)

“We just started recently. I got here nearly two weeks ago, this is Adrien’s first week,” Marinette replies easily-

Wait, easily? Marinette can talk  _ easily _ around Luka and Adrien? But didn’t she have crushes on them? Did Marinette lose that when she left them all behind?

Juleka finds herself sinking, sinking, sinking to the ground until she’s left shaking and struggling to breathe. It’s all so much, far too much. She’s lost Marinette, she’s lost Luka, she’s lost Adrien and  _ nothing makes sense _ . She just wants everything to be normal, she just wants, just wants-

“Perduetrouvé,” Hawkmoth’s voice rings in her ears, and the world makes sense.

\-----

Adrien smiles at Luka, at the guitarist who he’s only seen a few times. This is good, this is great, actually! Now they can talk more often, and become better friends, and oh maybe Félix will get along with Luka and then they can  _ all _ hang out and-

A flash of red catches his eye, and Adrien is suddenly being crashed into. He stumbles back, falling down. He looks up, eyes wide.

Vibrant purple eyes stare back down at him, and Adrien gulps at the pure anger they hold.

“Adrien,” she says, and he recognizes Juleka’s voice immediately. Her eyes turn, glaring at her brother. “Luka.” Another change in focus, and Juleka frowns. “ _ Marinette _ .”

“Juleka?” Marinette gets out, confusion obvious. “How did you-”

“How did I know?” Juleka scowls. “How did I  _ find _ you? Simple.  _ I followed you _ . And now you’re no longer lost, and neither will our class be!” She stalks forward, dark red gown fanning out around her legs. “Not anymore.” And then she’s grabbing at Marinette with her free hand and pulling her away, and she’s waving her other hand and the scepter it holds, and she’s gone, gone before Adrien can reach out, before he can grab her and save her and-

Adrien looks to Luka, who’s staring with wide eyes. And then the boy darts off, running in the direction of...of his old school.

“Psst,” Plagg whispers from his pocket. “Kid, we need to transform. Your little princess is kind of kidnapped.”

That spurs Adrien into action, and suddenly he’s darting behind a tree and leaping out as Chat Noir. He jumps to the rooftops, making his way to Dupont. He calls Ladybug on his staff, she needs to know-

She doesn’t pick up. 

He calls again.

No answer.

Chat Noir stops in his tracks, heart racing with nerves as he stares at the school before him. Except it’s no school, but rather a medieval-styled castle. From where he stands, he can see through the hole in the wall of Bustier’s room that serves as a window. All of his classmates stand, surrounding Marinette who struggles to escape them. Juleka stands beside her, looking proud as she waves her scepter around. Suddenly Marinette stops struggling, and Chat Noir feels sick.

He calls Ladybug a third time, and gets nothing.

Looks like he has to rescue his princess by himself. 

Chat Noir tenses, ready to leap in and try to get Marinette away from his mind-controlled classmates. He springs forwards-

A small tug on his tail surprises him. Chat stumbles over his own feet, and turns to see Master Fu and Wayzz.

“Chat Noir,” the old man greets, and Chat feels even worse.

“Where’s Ladybug?” Chat asks quickly. “Is she hurt? She won’t answer my calls, but I need her help! Marinette has been kidnapped, I can’t let her get hurt and-”

“Ladybug is preoccupied,” Fu explains. “I sent her on a mission, so she can not get back in time to fight the Akuma. I have brought you a few Miraculi, and it is up to you to choose the right ones. You will find temporary heroes, and then you will return the Miraculi to me right after. Understood?”

Chat Noir nods, and then Fu is pulling out multiple Miraculi. A snake bracelet, a fox pendant, a bee comb and the turtle bracelet on his wrist.

Chat Noir feels a little less hopeless as he grabs the snake and the fox, and quickly races back to his new school.

Yes, everything will be fine, and Marinette will be saved. 

\-----

Getting kidnapped was  _ not _ how Marinette planned to spend her day, thank you very much. Seriously, couldn’t she have a normal day? 

Apparently  _ not _ , because here she is. Stuck in her old classroom, Marinette finds herself surrounded by her old classmates, held captive by an Akuma.

Oh, sorry, she meant Perduetrouvé. Her mistake. Speaking of which…

“Just sit in your old spot, Marinette!” Perduetrouvé says, voice light yet firm, holding no room for negotiating. “We’ll all go back to the way things used to be. Won’t we, everyone?” They all nod, eyes painted a shining red. All ‘found’, as the Akuma calls it.

Marinette plays along, knowing that she, too, will be found if she doesn’t. She sits in her seat, and looks to Perduetrouvé.

Perduetrouvé smiles sweetly. “Perfect! And to make sure everything stays this way-” She flicks her wrist, her scepter sparking. Red dust emerges, hitting Marinette as she tries to dart away. 

She can’t move. 

“Clumsy Marinette, you must’ve stumbled! Here, I’ll help.” Perduetrouvé flicks her wrist again, and Alya is moving. Robotically, the journalist situates Marinette, letting the girl lean on her hands, staring straight ahead at nothing but air.

“Ah. I forgot about Adrien, didn’t I?” Perduetrouvé murmurs, then clicks her tongue. “I suppose I’ll have to grab him. He  _ is _ your crush, after all.”

He isn’t, but Marinette has the common sense to stay quiet. (It’s not like she can move her mouth, anyways.)

“I’ll be back in a moment, guys!” Perduetrouvé calls out, turning back to the window. “Adrien can’t be far, so this’ll be-”

Suddenly she’s knocked back, a blur of black knocking her over. Green and orange fill Marinette’s vision, and a startled gasp shoves through her lips.

It looks like Chat Noir brought company.

Marinette follows the fight from the corner of her eyes, watching how Perduetrouvé takes on all three boys at once. Chat Noir is vicious today, practically tearing at the Akuma. The two hit blow after blow on each other. Meanwhile, the other two are stuck fighting the class, who Perduetrouvé has summoned and sent to fight for her. 

And here she is. Stuck at her desk. How useful.

“Why don’t you be a good little kitty and leave us  _ alone _ ,” Perduetrouvé hisses out.

“Why don’t you be a good little student and leave my  _ princess  _ alone?” Chat hisses out, and Marinette feels her cheeks heat up.

No. No, this isn’t the time for that. Not the time to think about that nickname being said so possessively…

Not the time!

Marinette focuses on the other heroes, the new ones. They’re clearly the Snake and the Fox, that much is obvious. And they’re both...wow.

Marinette may be blushing a little harder, but she feels like she can’t be blamed. 

Because her new team is  _ fierce _ . Sure, she and Chat Noir make a pretty powerful duo, dare she say it, but she  _ knows _ they’ve never been so…

Focused. Determined. Vicious, dare she say it, but it’s true. It shows in the way the Snake lashes out like a coiled serpent, striking at his enemies. It shows in the way the Fox tricks her old classmates, evading their grasp only to knock them down. 

And, looking at how vicious Chat Noir is, how angry and deadset he is on taking down Perduetrouvé, it seems they’re making for a very interesting influence on him, too.

(Or maybe they’re all just determined to save her. Marinette doesn’t think about that.)

Marinette can only watch in awe as her partner and their new teammates work in sync. There’s no jokes, no puns, no faltering missteps or mistakes. Chat is silent, eyes locked on his target. The Snake is serious, keeping the mind-controlled class from reaching Chat and Perduetrouvé. And the Fox is quick, agile-

And he’s suddenly picking her up. Marinette blinks as the Fox grabs her, leaping out of the window, ignoring the shouts of anger that Perduetrouvé lets out. He darts to the roof, slipping out of sight.

“Are you alright?” He asks, silver eyes searching as he takes in her frozen form. “That was ridiculous of me to ask, my apologies. Here.” He reaches for her arms, gently setting them down so she doesn’t look so, well, ridiculous. “I’ll come back when the Akuma is taken down. Stay safe.” Then he’s leaping back into battle, once more full of fire and focus.

“Marinette?” Tikki whispers, phasing through the bag. When she’s sure the coast is clear she darts into view, frowning. “Oh, Marinette! You got hit!” Marinette doesn’t respond, and Tikki cringes. “Oh, right. Let me help!” She flies forwards and taps Marinette’s forehead, and suddenly Marinette can feel her limbs.

“Thanks, Tikki!” She stands up, stretching quickly. “Looks like Chat got in touch with Master Fu when I didn’t show up.”

“And it looks like  _ you _ approve of his choices,” Tikki lets out, and Marinette blushes again.

“Of course I trust Chat! He’s my partner!” Flustered, Marinette shakes her head. “Focus! Tikki, spots on!”

Ladybug darts into the room to find Perduetrouvé tied up, her scepter being smashed by Chat Noir.

Huh. Looks like they don’t always need her. Good to know?

Ladybug casts her Miraculous Cure quickly, and the class returns to normal. They all stare at her, confusion obvious. 

“Who- who are they?” Alya asks, voice shaking as she points at the Fox and the Snake.

“Envision,” the Fox says, cold eyes sweeping over the room.

“I go by Viperion,” says the Snake, and he smiles gently.

“Are you guys permanent?” Rose asks, and they all look to Ladybug for answers.

But she doesn’t have any.

“They got called on to help us out for this fight,” Chat Noir says lightly. “Speaking of, we should probably head on out. Right, boys?”

“Of course,” Envision agrees. “Should we bring Marinette back to her school before detransforming?”

“Her school?” Nino asks. “Wait,  _ back _ ? Where is she?” And suddenly the whole class is looking around, looking for  _ her. _

Envision opens his mouth, and that’s when Ladybug knows she needs to  _ move _ .

“I saw her on the roof when I got here!” Ladybug says, already inching over to the window. “But I’m sure one of you boys are happy to take her back, right?” Faced with three nods, Ladybug smiles widely. “Thanks! I have to go, then. Bug, out!” And then she’s jumping out of the window, swinging out of view, and landing on the roof. 

“Spots off,” she says quickly, and a flash of pink covers her. The moment Marinette is done, she hears a thump, then another, then a third.

Tikki knows to hide, and Marinette looks up to see all three of her saviors. And she takes a moment to really  _ look  _ at them.

Viperion wears a cyan and light blue suit with a snake skin design on his chest, showing off how toned he is. His eyes are a warm yet cool aqua color, and his hair a beautiful cyan shade. Now out of battle, the once vicious serpent has calmed, now smiling sweetly at her.

Envision, on the other hand, keeps up his serious demeanor as he scans the sky, but his eyes seem to soften as they land on her. His suit is a much lighter orange than Rena Rouge’s, and his chest is covered with a soft, silvery white color. The fabric tail that both Rena and Volpina sported is forgone completely, instead the fox wears a silver belt with his flute attached to it. However, the boy didn’t remove every accessory, keeping the fox ears in his hair (Marinette wonders if those are actually optional or not). His silver eyes hide behind a fully orange mask, the mask only making his eyes seem brighter. The only change in color is the black on his boots and gloves, which remind Marinette of a fox’s paws.

And then there’s Chat Noir, beaming at her like usual. She’s glad to see  _ someone _ familiar.

“Princess,” Chat Noir says, stepping closer. “Are you alright?”

Marinette smiles at him, smiles at all three of her teammates. “I am, thank you.” She looks to Viperion. “Thank you for keeping my classmates out of the way.” To Envision. “Thank you for getting me out of there.”

They nod, smile, and then all three speak at once. “I can take you b-”

They all pause, eyes narrowing at one another.

It’s cute, seeing them all trying to be so kind. They must all be such sweethearts, wanting to be the hero and take her back. Chat Noir chose wonderful teammates.

(She doesn’t think that, just maybe, they just want an excuse to carry  _ her _ .)

Envision clears his throat. “As I was  _ saying _ , I can take you back to your school. Marinette, right?” 

“She’s actually on my route, so I’m happy to take her,” Viperion says smoothly, stepping closer to Marinette.

Chat Noir stops him, though, using his baton to halt the boy’s advance. “Don’t worry, boys,  _ I’ll  _ take my princess back to her school. I know where she goes, so it’s all fine.” And then he’s strolling up to her, grinning like the cat who caught the canary. “Ready, princess?”

She nods. “Yeah.” And then she’s being swept off her feet, and her arms are wrapped around his neck as he leaps into the air, the other two heroes right behind him. 

It’s exhilarating, and Marinette feels free. Marinette laughs into the wind, and Chat Noir laughs too, pulling her closer until she can practically feel his beating heart.

The cool air does its best to keep the heat off of her cheeks, but nature can’t always overcome her feelings...especially when Marinette is barely aware of them in the first place.

\-----

Envision watches with wistful eyes as Marinette is set down at last. She stumbles as she reaches the ground, her footing off, and Chat catches her quickly. Envision holds his tongue, holds back a growl that tries to escape his throat.

He shakes his head. He has no right to be like this. They’re just keeping Marinette safe, just doing their job to protect her.

Well, maybe Chat and Viperion are. 

Finally,  _ finally _ , Chat Noir releases his hold on Marinette. Marinette smiles up at him.

“Thank you, Chat Noir,” she says, and her voice is so sincere that Envision huffs. But then Marinette is looking at him, and his world is lit up once more. “And thank you, Envision, Viperion.” And then she’s turning and walking away, walking into the school. 

“Alright, let’s get you guys detransformed!” Chat Noir is saying, suddenly relaxed and carefree, now that his eyes are off of his  _ princess _ . Envision lets the cat themed hero lead him away behind a bush, and then he detransforms.

Félix walks back into the school, the image of him holding Marinette stuck in his head.

And if he searches out Marinette right away? Well, he was just concerned when he heard of her kidnapping, that’s all...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, did you expect it? Reading the comments, it seems that most people expected the stalker to be Lila! (Which, to be honest? I never even thought of using the liar, haha!) But no, Juleka came to steal some 'screen' time, and so did a few new heroes. <3


	13. Part Thirteen

Part Thirteen

The moment Gorilla stops the car, Adrien is racing out, barely remembering to grab his bag and let out a hasty, “Bye, see you soon!” to his bodyguard. He darts up the steps with a speed that could rival his secret persona’s, slamming the door open in his excitement.

When he steps into class, Marinette is already there. She’s chatting with Félix as the two pull out their things. Adrien is quick to slide into his seat beside her, ignoring his racing heart. (It must be from the run, of course.) 

“ _ Salut _ , Marinette,” Adrien greets, “Félix. How are you guys?” 

“I’m good, Adrien,” Marinette responds happily, smiling like usual.

“We were just talking about yesterday,” Félix informs him with a smirk. “ _ Someone _ has been all too happy to talk about the handsome hero who saved her from yesterday’s Akuma.”

Adrien blinks, surprised (and somewhat excited?) to see how Marinette blushes. Huh. Is she a fan of Chat Noir?

“It wasn’t just Envision!” Marinette protests, and for some reason Adrien’s heart twists when she says the Fox’s name instead of his. Maybe he shouldn’t have sprinted to class?

“They were all amazing,” Marinette continues, unaware of Adrien’s brightening eyes. “And besides...it’s what they do. It’s practically their job to save people.” And yet Marinette is still blushing, her smile never leaving her face.

Adrien hums, pulling out the homework from the night before. “I don’t know,” Adrien replies. “I heard that Chat Noir carried you all the way back here, I doubt he does that for everyone.” He winks, as if he’s just guessing, and Marinette’s blush grows. (Flustered is a good look on her, in his opinion at least.)

Félix laughs at Marinette’s reaction. “Marinette, if I didn’t know any better, I’d assume that you have a crush on the three heroes.”

Adrien snorts at that, because  _ why _ on Earth would Marinette have a crush on-

Oh. 

_ Oh _ . 

Adrien feels his face heat up as Marinette sputters, trying to deny her crush on his hero persona.

‘And Félix’s and Luka’s,’ Adrien reminds himself bitterly. Wait. Bitterly? Why would he be bitter? It’s not like he’s jealous, right? Because wouldn’t he need a reason to be jealous? Like having a crush on her? Pffft, as if! Adrien likes Ladybug, his partner, his soulmate, his one true love! Sure, Marinette is a great friend, and sure he may have transferred schools just to spend more time with her, and sure his day might get better when he sees her smile, and he might think that she’s the greatest, sweetest, cutest girl in the world, an everyday Ladybug who is equal to the spotted heroine herself in terms of wonder-

Oh.

Oh  _ no _ .

Adrien blinks, then looks at Félix. His cousin smirks at Marinette, satisfied with the girl’s sputtering.

Happy to see how much Marinette likes  _ Envision _ . 

Oh Hell no.

Adrien does his best not to snarl as he realizes that he’s accidentally given himself competition, then looks away as the bell rings.

It’ll be a long day, that’s for sure.

\-----

Félix isn’t a fool. He sees Marinette fully, sees exactly who she is- and he’s not blind to how he feels, either.

She’s amazing. She’s kind, she’s passionate, she’s willing to speak up against what’s wrong-

And she likes him, too...and yet she doesn’t, in an odd sort of way. Because she seems to have fallen for his hero identity.

It’s amusing, seeing how she practically sings praises for her savior, how she unknowingly blushes and gushes to him  _ about himself _ to his face.

Félix, sadly, isn’t blind to the fact that Marinette likes Chat Noir and Viperion as well. But he’s sure that he has the advantage, and that he will be the victor in the race for her heart. Because while Viperion and Chat Noir both seem to be interested in her, they both have setbacks. Viperion doesn’t have a chance, he’s too new and doesn’t hold the same awe that Ladybug or Chat Noir might inspire in a Parisian citizen. Sure, he’s a little exciting, but when the newness factor dies down, Envision will be the one taking Marinette’s heart. And as for that hero glamour that Chat Noir has? Well, that’s  _ all _ he has. The oddly possessive cat can never be as close to Marinette as Félix is, nor will he ever get the  _ chance _ to be as close as Félix will be one day. Because there’s no  _ way _ Chat Noir could possibly be in the same school as Marinette, right? 

Right. And that’s why Félix has the supreme advantage, why he has so much confidence that he will be able to woo Marinette, the girl who is quickly becoming the light of his life, a ray of sunshine in his days. Because there’s no way Viperion or Chat Noir could be in this school, so Félix is fine. 

He does have one issue, though. His cousin is  _ oddly _ red faced...but Félix doubts that Adrien will be an issue, either. After all, Marinette has her heart taken by the three heroes. There’s no room for Adrien. Because, let’s face it, Adrien isn’t exactly Chat Noir.

(Poor Félix, he really doesn’t know what he’s getting into…)

\-----

Luka’s always been in tune with matters of the heart. It’s easy to pick out the rhythms, the beats that emanate from each person to make their own, personalized song. Melodies spring out of everyone around him, some painful and sour, some pleasant and soothing. 

And some that get stuck in his head from the moment he first hears them.

Luka didn’t expect to see Marinette at his school, why would he? She was with Juleka in Bustier’s class, that’s how it had been since, well, since Luka first met the girl.

And then she stumbled into him, her song as clear as ever. And she smiled at him, and spoke with a tone of surprise and excitement. Excitement over seeing  _ him _ .

Luka’s beat might’ve been racing after that, but his joy quickly disappeared when his sister arrived, Akumatized, and stole her away. She was gone, whisked away without a moment’s notice, and Luka had done  _ nothing _ , could  _ do _ nothing, and-

And Chat Noir showed up, the Snake Miraculous in hand. And Luka had a Second Chance.

And he had a Second Chance with Marinette. Marinette, who had calmed down around him, was suddenly raving about Viperion, bright eyed and pink cheeked. She was adorable, flustered as she spoke highly of him.

Luka isn’t blind to emotions. He’s always loved her, from the moment he heard her heart’s song. He knew that her heart belonged to another, belonged to Adrien, but a piece of it belonged to him. But something changed as time passed, and Marinette moved on from both…

Only to fall for Luka again, but this time with a mask to hide his identity.

Luka isn’t blind. He knows when he’s given a good hand, when he’s been given an opportunity.

He can only hope that his heart’s call is enough to sway Marinette’s song away from Envision and Chat Noir. 

Maybe, this time, everything will work out just fine.

Maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonjour! Here's part thirteen, sorry for taking so long to post it!! I hope you enjoy it, and I'll see you next time. <3


	14. Part Fourteen

Part Fourteen

It’s a normal day for Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Get up, go to school, inevitably have to sneak off to transform and take down an Akuma-

Yeah, it’s one of those days.  _ Fun _ .

Ladybug wishes she could catch the damn villain by now, because really, she  _ can’t _ keep missing so much school.

“At least it was at school,” Ladybug mutters to herself as she races down the quickly emptying hallway. “So I won’t be marked absent for  _ saving their asses _ .” She leaps over a boy when he freezes before her, eyes searching for the Akuma.

Her gaze locks onto bright green, and she smirks. Gotcha.

He, too, spots her, and his bright purple eyes light up. “Ladybug,” his voice comes out, sharp and bitter. He slinks forward, drips of green falling off of him.

Faintly, a buzzing sound reaches Ladybug’s ears. Odd.

“No witty explanation?” Chat Noir asks, the only voice in the now deserted hall. “I at least expected an ‘I’ll steal your Miraculous’ comment, man.” He does his best to sound disappointed, but his face is perfectly clear of emotion. 

“I suppose I failed  _ that _ , too,” the Akuma bites out. Droplets of green shoot out of his mouth, hitting the ground before him. The buzzing comes back, louder.

“Failed a test? I’m sure there’s some great tutors here,” Ladybug consoles, but the Akuma just growls, fists clenching.

“Oh, tests are  _ fine _ .  _ Perfect _ .” He chuckles. “No, if you want to know so  _ badly _ , it was a science lab.”

Ladybug doesn’t respond, eyes trained on the dripping neon boy. Chat Noir just tilts his head.

“But aren’t you able to redeem points by pointing out what went wrong in the experiment?” Chat Noir asks. “I know a few schools like to do that.”

He laughs, neon drops flying further and buzzing increasing. “Oh, they gave us a chance to redeem points, alright. And you know what? I explained every  _ little _ thing that might have been wrong. You know what my dear old professor said, though?”

Even Chat Noir doesn’t respond now.

“He said it was a human error. That  _ I _ was a human error.” Another laugh. “I’ll  _ show him _ what Human Erreur looks like. I’ll show him!” And then he lifts his hand, unclenching it. “And if you want to get in my way, I’ll just have to delete some data!” Green sprays out of his hand, and Ladybug and Chat Noir dive out of the way.

The buzzing increases tenfold, and Ladybug glances back to the source.

The liquid eats away at the ground, leaving behind a hole.

“Acid,” Ladybug realizes, and looks to Chat Noir. “Chat, that’s acid. Don’t let him hit you!”

“Got it, my Lady!” Chat shouts, dodging another blast, and  _ wow _ Ladybug has never felt so warm from that nickname before-

Not the time.

Human Erreur looks back to Ladybug, eyes narrowed and shaking with rage. “You! You should understand why I’m doing this!”

“I should?” Ladybug asks, leaping on top of some lockers to avoid his acidic spray.

“You  _ live _ to remove problems! Every week, you’re out defeating Akumas- deleting incorrect data! You should be on  _ my _ side.”

“But you’re an Akuma, so doesn’t that mean she should defeat  _ you _ ?” Chat questions, then yelps as Human Erreur shoots more acid his way.

The dripping boy looks close to tears as he looks at Ladybug once more. “Please. Together, we can get rid of our problems.”

“I don’t-”

“Think about it!” He cuts her off, holding one arm out to face her, the other in Chat’s direction, keeping them both still. “If I’m Akumatized, no one else can be! I’ll- I’ll call a truce! I won’t attack you, you won’t attack me! We both get what we want, and, and-” A purple mask outlines his face, and he freezes. “You never said I couldn’t!” He starts to shout. “You said I-” His body shakes, and he falls to the ground. “You  _ said _ -” more shaking, and the tears fall, burning the ground around him. “ _ You said- _ ” the poor boy starts to throw up, curling in on himself as acid flies from his mouth. 

Ladybug feels her breath catch as he sobs. She jumps down from the lockers, heading over to him. ‘ _ He’s hurting _ ,’ she thinks. ‘ _ He’s fighting Hawkmoth, and the damn man is  _ hurting _ him. _ ’

She’s going to  _ kill _ Hawkmoth when she finally sees him. 

Human Erreur jolts back as Ladybug approaches. “ _ He said- _ ” Human Erreur mutters, and then he jolts forwards, launching himself at Ladybug and grabbing at her ears.

Ladybug screams the second his hands touch her skin. No, that’s not it.

She shrieks, a bloodcurdling cry that rips from her throat unprompted the very moment his acidic hands make contact. All she can feel is the burning, the way her skin buzzes, no, sizzles under the heat and-

Cool air reaches her quickly, and Human Erreur flies back, knocking into a row of lockers. Before her stands Chat Noir, baton at the ready.

“Don’t  _ touch _ her,” he growls, and then he pounces on Human Erreur, knocking him back further and further, over and over as he beats the boy down until the Akuma falls back, falls down, and Chat Noir grabs the first thing he sees- a small pin- and crushes it, releasing the Akuma.

“Ladybug!” Chat Noir cries, and that snaps Ladybug back to reality. In seconds, she captures the Akuma and purifies it, then casts her cure. She feels the magic’s effect, how it cools her skin and takes away all of the pain. She sees how it returns the school to normal, leaving behind a deserted hallway and sobbing boy.

Her heart breaks at how scared he looks, at the worried, open stare Chat gives her, at how she tenses up ever so slightly before heading over to the boy, to her peer, to check on him.

“Are you okay?” She asks. 

“Y-yeah,” he responds.

“I-” her earrings beep, even though she didn’t use Lucky Charm. Ladybug doesn’t question it, though. “I have to go. Chat?”

His ring beeps, too, and he smiles sadly. “I’ll see you. Patrol tonight?”

“Yeah.” Patrol sounds good.

The two part, leaving behind the startled boy. Alone, Marinette looks to Tikki.

“I’m sorry,” Tikki says. “I took some of the pain, but I had to detransform.” She’s shaking, and Marinette quickly cups her Kwami. 

“It’s fine, Tikki. Are you better now?” 

Tikki nods. “Yes, just a bit tired.”

“That’s good.” Marinette stares off, then frowns.

“What’s the matter?”

“He fought Hawkmoth’s control.”

“That’s good!”

“Hawkmoth started hurting him…” Marinette looks down at Tikki. “Who knows if this is the first time he’s hurt his Akuma? How long do you think he’s been so, so... _ awful _ ?”

Tikki frowns, a saddened shrug coming from the Kwami. “I guess we can’t ever be sure, Marinette.”

And Marinette knows that’s the end of the conversation, so she sighs and places the little goddess in her purse before heading back to her quickly returning class.

It’s another normal day for Marinette Dupain-Cheng…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was something.
> 
> I have no explanation, it just kind of sprung out of my head onto the document. Sorry.


	15. 'Part Fifteen'

Part Fifteen (An Explanation and Summary)

So, I posted this on my tumblr a while ago, but...I don’t plan to continue this story any longer. As much as I  _ loved _ writing it, I also...fell out of love, I suppose. I just don’t have the time, passion, or motivation to try forcing myself to write it anymore, and it’s unfair to you guys to have to accept a sloppy second, something thrown onto a document for the sake of a word count and an update. I want to write stuff I’m proud of, and that just  _ wasn’t happening _ with this story.

That said, one reader asked for a summary, so that they could get some closure. Luckily, I have some notes that I took as I planned the story and started writing it, and I thought you’d like to see some of them. This includes three things: 1. The schedules for most of the main characters 2. The heroes I was planning on bringing in and 3. All of the ideas I had for “Who on  _ Earth _ will Marinette end up with?” (This was a doozy.) Along with this, I want to talk about other pairings I had in mind. 

With that all said, let’s hop right in!

**The Schedules:**

I really planned out their schedules, just so I could start figuring out who the Quantic Kids would be. I had a general idea in mind: Each student at Collège des Arts would have to take their four core classes (History, Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science), a language, and then their last period would be a two hour block that focused on their artistic talent. I set it up this way so that I could integrate the Quantic Kids into Marinette’s life. (Along with this, I made it so the whole school had lunch after fourth hour, so that the morning had four hours of classes, and the afternoon had three. I note this, because some schools separate lunches based on fourth hour, so that there is an A, B, and C lunch. I...did not feel like dealing with that, and I wasn’t sure how French schools do it but I doubt it’s like that.) 

Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s schedule: 

  1. History (right next to Félix, later on stuck between him and Adrien) The original plan never had Adrien’s arrival, it was supposed to be a moment of comic relief where Marinette and Félix were just kind of half awake and barely conscious at any given time during first hour. This is why their history teacher, Mr. Marcel, was either wide awake or dead asleep. I thought it’d be a cute moment to show off the dynamics of their exhaustion or energy, depending on the day. I didn’t show this off _nearly_ as much as planned, however, because I shifted my focus soon after.
  2. Language Arts (with Allegra). A nice, calmer class seemed perfect for Marinette, who’d probably _still_ be waking up. Allegra is calm and classy, so it only made sense to pair the two up for the second hour.
  3. Science (Claude’s here!) Loud and exciting, just like their class seems to be, it was a perfect pairing. 
  4. Math (with Allegra and Claude) I wanted to show off Allegra and Claude’s...chaotic dynamic. 
  5. English (with Allan) Marinette wants to be a fashion designer, and she _had_ to take a language, so she thought “hey, fashion is pretty big in America, let’s learn English”. (It was also the only class I could think of that she and Allan would take...more on that later.)
  6. Fashion Design. Pretty self-explanatory.



Allegra: 

  1. German. Allegra likes opera music, and wanted to mimic the sound of some German singers accurately. 
  2. Language Arts (with Marinette, as mentioned above)
  3. Science (a different teacher than Marinette and Claude, though. What a pity) (Also I apparently called it ‘physics’ and I _just_ noticed.) 
  4. Math (With Marinette and Claude)
  5. History
  6. Choir (She’s a singer.)



Claude Mercury:

  1. English (It was for the theatre, but also for Shakespeare, but more accurately….for Shakespeare’s more inappropriate humor.) (and memes)
  2. History
  3. Science (with Marinette) (Lots of explosions and fires were planned)
  4. Math (With Allegra and Marinette) 
  5. Language Arts
  6. Drama. He was just a simple thespian lad who wanted to have fun and make friends, what can I say?



Allan:

  1. Math
  2. Science
  3. Language Arts
  4. History
  5. English (with Marinette) He likes hip hop and rap, and wanted to learn English rap, too. He, like Claude, also loves their memes, and I planned to have a few moments where he explained some to Marinette. 
  6. Dance. Mainly hip hop, although the boy can break dance a little bit



Félix Agreste: 

  1. History (with Marinette) He’s tired in the morning, but good at reciting dates. Again, had a lot more planned for this.
  2. Math
  3. Spanish. (“Come on, guys, it’s logical. It’s one of the most spoken languages in the world.” -Félix, probably.) I also planned for Félix to already know English. I wanted a cute chapter where he tutored Marinette, only for Claude to start dramatically monologuing because ‘ _why do you help her but never help_ me _? The betrayal, Fe, the betrayal!_ ’ 
  4. Language Arts
  5. Science
  6. Music (he’s a piano boy in my heart) (maybe also good at violin) (a classy young man) 



Adrien Agreste:

  1. History (with Marinette)
  2. Language Arts (with Marinette)
  3. Science (with Marinette)
  4. Math (with Marinette)
  5. Chinese (with Marin- oh, wait, we’re done with that!) _This class_ , along with his next, is another reason Adrien relaxed so quickly at the school. By taking Chinese at school, he was able to convince his father to stop the at-home lessons, clearing up some of his schedule.
  6. Music. Same as above, playing piano at school meant he didn’t have to do it at home so much.



**The Heroes:**

“But Belle, you already  _ introduced _ the heroes! Envision and Viperion, remember?” Haha, as if those were the only guys I had planned?

Yeah, I had more. Four more.

I wanted the Quantic Kids to be heroes. I had three of them for  _ sure _ chosen, names and Miraculi assigned to them. (Allegra was my only problem child, but I’ll explain that below.)

The first was  _ supposed  _ to be Allegra. I was going to make her the Fox, with the name Mélodie. I’m  _ pretty _ sure that was her original hero name, back during the PV stage of this show, and I wanted to pay an homage to her inspiration. But then Félix got it, because I didn’t end up giving him the Cat (yeah, I was really salty when I started this, and I was planning to go the same route that I do in my other fic,  _ Of Patience and Pettiness _ , and take away the Cat from Adrien to give to Félix.), as Adrien learned from his mistakes. So Allegra waits, and Envision springs to life with Viperion.

Next would be Allan. Miraculous: Bee. Name: Mellifury, based on Mellifura (aka the Africanized Killer Bee) + Fury. He was supposed to be an unexpected storm. A dancer, he uses rhythm in a way that throws off opponents. Uses the spinning top like it's another limb, throws the game way off when first introduced. 

Then we’d have Allegra. After a while, I decided that the Rabbit would be best suited for her. Messing with timelines is a tricky business, but Allegra has a knack for details and organization that would leave her cruising through her tasks with some practice. While it’s nothing musical, it would be fun to see. Name: Cottontail. 

Finally, after an interesting fight that would cause Nathalie to lose the Peacock...Claude would step in. Bold and flashy, the thespian knows how to strut his stuff. But again, he’s a thespian, and theatre kids know when it’s time to hide in the shadows and stay unseen and unheard. With dark blues that can hide in the name and stand out in the daylight, Claude would become Le Paon, turning the tide and becoming a  _ major _ help for the team. [At first, he dealt with some sickness, but after a talk with Ladybug, who in turn talked to Fu, the Miraculous was fixed and Le Paon could fight as easily as the rest.] He’d use sentimentals wisely, although he’d have a bad habit of monologuing as he created them. 

**The Ships:**

The moment we’ve all been waiting for. Our first question: Who the  _ hell _ was Marinette going to end up with? Well, that answer changed throughout the story.

The first choice: Félix. I wanted Marinette to move on from Agreste...and fall in love with Agreste. It humored me, and I was in  _ love _ with a bunch of Felinette one shots at the time. (And, again, very salty towards Adrien at the moment.) 

But then I redeemed Adrien. No problem, I thought. Marinette could choose between one of the boys...and the other would date Luka! (I mean, did you  _ see _ the Instagram picture of Luka and Adrien? Luka with either Agreste would be cute, just imagine the musical moments they could have together.)

But  _ then _ I Akumatized Juleka, and Luka was  _ right there _ ...and I made Marinette fall for all three guys. So I decided “Hey, she can just date all three!” And so that’s the final choice, because I’m apparently a sucker for poly ships. 

But I mentioned  _ other _ ships, didn’t I? So let’s talk about those!

First: Luka with an OC. Yep, I was going to bring in a new girl. It was actually going to be one of my friends, due to a conversation we had that went as follows:

S.H. (Salthaven): So I’m thinking that I’m going to pair up Félix and Marinette. Thoughts?

F. (Friend): Okay, but what about Luka?

S.H.:  ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

F.: Well then pair me up with him!

So I did. Or I was  _ going to _ ...but then poly ship idea happened. 

As mentioned above, I also considered Luka with either of the Agreste boys. Whoever Marinette didn’t date. Again, couldn’t happen because I went for that sweet poly route. 

Finally: Claude and Allegra. What can I say, they act like an old married couple in my mind!

And that’s everything! Once all the heroes were chosen, and romantic confessions set aside, the Miraculous Team was going to gear up and take down Hawkmoth once and for all. Fun times, the end, we all get a happy ending.

So I hope that makes up for my rather abrupt end to this story. Thank you all for the time you put in, reading my writings, and I hope you enjoy the other works I plan to create! Until next time. <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to apologize once more for this. I know some of you guys got really excited when I suddenly changed the story to say '15 chapters', and were eager for an ending. This is the best I could do for you all, without ruining the fic by forcing out words that I don't mean.
> 
> With that said, if anyone decides that they want to pick up the story and run with it, by all means go ahead! I understand the want for a story to continue, heaven knows I've been scorned by discarded stories that caught me by the heart! Just leave a comment and make a note on your story that it's related, and I'm happy to hand it over! <3
> 
> I hope that this will be the only story on this site that I have to give up, and that you all enjoy the other works I continue to create. Au revoir~


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